Dandelions
by diamondwine
Summary: Fred has been gone for a while and George is choosing to live again. It's hard but he wants to adjust and find happiness. Then one summer day, he runs into Angelina Johnson.
1. Chapter 1

My back was growing stiff where I rested up against Fred's grave stone.  
"And remember that time we set off a dung bomb one Christmas in Aunt Muriel's chair?" I laughed. "It was your brilliant idea, Freddie. We got into a load of trouble." I had been spending a lot of my time here, at Fred's grave. It was where I felt, and literally was, closer to my twin. The breeze wafted across my face in a tickling manner, a sign that Fred was listening and laughing back. I just _knew_ my brother was listening. I turned around and sat in the grass, facing the gravestone.  
"For you, bro," I said solemnly, conjuring little lights and fireworks at Fred's grave. I closed my eyes and sighed again, turning skyward toward the sun gazing down at me. I wasn't sure how long I'd stayed that way. I got that feeling like someone was watching me. Angelina Johnson gazed over at me from about ten feet away. I just looked at her, unsure whether I should wave her over, so I did nothing but stare. Eventually she started towards me. I waited for her to approach.  
"Hi," I said, breaking the silence which had lasted a moment too long after she sat in the grass not far from me. I looked over at her and she was staring down in her lap, her hair covering her face just enough that I couldn't see her eyes. Angelina looked up and turned to me, smiling yet her eyes running with tears.

She laughed lightly, "You know, I've been meaning to stop by here…but…" she shook her head, pulling a handkerchief from her pocket and wiping her eyes.

"I haven't seen you since the funeral," I said quietly, not wanting to upset her anymore than was necessary. She shook her head.

"I'm so sorry," she said, just above a whisper, looking at me sadly. I felt this strange urge to comfort her then and I found my hand on her shoulder, which she glanced at shortly before closing her eyes.

"It's been a month and I haven't even come to say hello," she said, inching towards the stone and touching it, her movement having caused my hand to fall from her shoulder.

"Angelina?" I asked.

"Hmm?" she turned to me.

"Why did you apologize? …None of this is your fault," I said, looking at her unsurely. She looked at me and looked in my eyes, fearlessly. She looked straight there and I wondered what she was trying to see. I looked back into her deep, dark eyes. They were dark, yet there was something so bright about them, something I found hard to ignore, staring back in her eyes as I was. She broke contact and stared at the handkerchief in her hand.

"He's happy you came by," I said, wanting to hear her say something again, perhaps even cheer her up. I wondered if I'd done something to offend her. She looked so sad. She seemed to be at a loss for words, opening her mouth several times as if she were going to speak, but closing it just as soon. Giving up, she sat back on the grass, crossing her legs out in front of her.

"I feel like I haven't been able to move…sleep…eat." Though she had dark skin, there was an unusual pallor about it that I hadn't noticed before when the sun peered through the clouds at us.

"How are…how are you?" she asked, staring down into her lap.

"What? Me?"

"It was so stupid of me to ask—I'm sorry," she said, immediately apologetic.

"No," I said honestly. "No, it's fine. I'm still breathing. It feels wrong, though. I still catch myself talking as if I'm talking to Fred, and when I forget and I glance to my side where he's always been, and I don't see him there…" I couldn't finish my sentence. I watched a few more drops slide down Angelina's cheeks. She dabbed them away with the delicate cloth.

"I hope I didn't disturb you, dropping by like this. I thought no one was here," she said, still sounding apologetic.

"No, not at all, Angelina." When I said her name, her head popped up and she looked over at me, almost as if she'd forgotten it was me she was talking to. I wanted to ask her what was wrong but decided that it would be best not to invoke anymore sadness than necessary. The sun hid behind the clouds again and Angelina seemed to fade just a bit. I picked up a dandelion that was sitting nearby and blew it so its seeds went flying. One landed in Angelina's hair, which she seemed not to notice. Her eyes were closed again. We sat there in silence for a little bit. The breeze kicked up and I felt a drop hit my forehead, followed by another, and then another until it was raining full-fledged. Angelina didn't even stand up or attempt to keep herself dry. I stood up when it really started to come down.

"Angelina."

She looked up at me, her dark eyes brightening a bit. I knelt in front of her then.

"Would you like to come over for dinner? We'll be eating soon, and I know my mum wouldn't mind fixing another seat at the table," I explained. She shook her head.

"G-George, I can't intrude. I didn't even mean to run into you here. I shouldn't…"

I shook my head, reaching out to touch her shoulder again. She kept her gaze on my face.

"You're going to get soaked out here, come on," I said, taking her hand lightly and standing up. She came with me and I started running in the direction of the Burrow. She followed suit as quickly as she could. When we reached the front door, I opened it and let her walk inside first. She went in and I closed the door behind me. When I turned around, she had barely moved much more than two feet inside, causing me to knock into her slightly. She stood still as if unaware of my touch.

"George?" Mum called from inside the kitchen.

"Oh, there you are. And Angelina, how are you?" she said, walking over and gesturing for Angelina to step further into the house. She stepped towards my mum with such unsure movements that I almost wanted to push her.

"I hope it's okay; I invited her for dinner," I explained.

"More than alright, George," said my mum in her usual motherly tone. She hugged Angelina for a bit. I heard Angie thank her so quietly, softly. The somberness in her voice was so distinct it was nearly faint.

"Come, dear," mum urged, guiding Angie by the shoulders into the kitchen. I went upstairs to wash my hands. I looked in the mirror as I rinsed the soap away, turning my face to the angle at which I looked most like Fred. I know I had been doing this too much, and it probably wasn't helping me through this. The water got so hot as I held my hands there. I didn't stop staring in the mirror until it burned me. Pulling my hands away and then nursing them gently, I turned the water off and went back down to the kitchen where almost everyone was sitting at the table already. Ginny smiled, having finished some short conversation with Angelina. I sat across from her at the table. She caught my face for a second and then looked down. This wasn't like her. It wasn't the Angelina I quite remembered. I wondered why she wouldn't stop looking away from me, but then realized how much I must've reminded her of Fred. There was a painful stabbing sensation in the pit of my stomach, but I tried to ignore it. Angelina was so busy staring at the table that she never realized me looking at her. The more I looked, the more her sadness brought my mood down, and strangely at the same time, filled me with the desire to comfort her. She probably thought no one else noticed the solitary tear slip down her cheek and into her tea. The longer I stared at her, despite her countenance, the prettier I noticed her to be. Mum put a plate in front of me but I couldn't stop looking at Angelina across from me. She stirred her tea absently. I felt something touch the top of my foot, startling me. I wondered if it was one of the cats when Angelina suddenly apologized. She had moved her foot under the table, accidentally touching mine. I picked up my fork and started eating. I wasn't even sure what it was as I watched her stare down at her own plate. She started to eat, but slowly, probably feeling too put out to even move. I knew just how she felt…

"But I've made the finest pie, Angelina. You would be missing out a great deal—I insist," said my mum, pushing a perfect slice of strawberry pie onto Angelina's plate. For the first time since I'd run into her, there was a genuine smile on her face. It made me feel better. She took one bite and it was clear that she was glad she had been convinced to stay. She complimented mum, who said she'd told her so. After dinner, I stayed sitting where I was across from Angelina.

"I really should be going," she said, not looking at me.

"Why? It's a Saturday. You haven't got work, have you?" I wasn't sure why, but I suddenly wanted to make her stay longer. I hadn't talked to anyone outside the family since Fred died. I think it was just nice to see a familiar face. Angelina sighed.

"Are you alright?" I asked. She glanced up at me, her eyes glazed over, but she blinked back the tears.

"Are _you_? George, I don't know how you do it. How can you be so sound while Fred's…?" she couldn't finish her sentence. It was my turn to blink back tears.

"It sounds strange, but I know he's happy where he is. I also know he hasn't left my side. Even though I can't see him and I can't still talk to him, I know he's with me. He never left."

Angelina smiled so slightly, but I was glad to see a different expression on her face.

"He would want us to keep laughing," I said honestly, "he would want us to keep smiling. He would want us all to still be happy. He didn't go in vain, you know," I said. Angelina nodded her head in agreement.

"You're right, George. You're absolutely right," she said. We were quiet a moment and all I could hear was the rain dancing against the window.

"I should really go now. Thank you so much for dinner," she said, starting to stand. I beat her to the position, standing out of my seat.

"Why?" I asked again.

She looked over at me curiously.

"Well, I didn't even tell my mum or dad I was going out. They're probably wondering where I am," she said, starting around the table.

"I'll show you out," I said, still not wanting her to go.

"Angie," I said as she stepped out into the rain. She paused and turned around to face me again. I stepped out into the rain where she was and looked down at her.

"I'm really glad I ran into you," I said, "It was nice to see a friend from school."

Angelina grinned slightly and then nodded. She looked up into my face with this curious stare for a few seconds, the rain beating down on us. I started to lift my hand but I wasn't sure why. Perhaps to touch her shoulder or place it on her cheek, or maybe to catch the dandelion seed that was still nesting in her dark hair, but before I could even reach, she turned around and started walking towards the marshes where she disapparated before I could say goodbye. There was something deep within me that had awakened at that moment, stretching itself and yawning in the pit of me.


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks passed before I saw Angelina again. I was standing at Fred's grave one morning, having been unable to sleep, watching the sun rise. I glanced across the horizon and saw something out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look full on and saw Angelina walking away in the opposite direction.

"Angie?" I called. It appeared she hadn't heard me. I walked after her, and then started running. She wasn't slowing down.

"Angelina!" I called, as she neared a hill. She stopped. I made my way over to her. She didn't bother to turn around. I approached carefully, as if not to startle her. She was wearing black robes and there was absolutely no colour in her attire. It made her look so lugubrious as I walked around her to find her face. She was looking at her hands, holding the same handkerchief I remembered her wiping her eyes with. It was white, noticeable in contrast to what she was wearing.

"Did you hear me? Why were you walking so quickly?" I asked. Her lips trembled slightly but she smiled a little bit.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you. Honestly, I didn't think you'd be here, at this hour," she said, a hint of surprise in her voice. The sun had just finished rising.

"Well, you didn't have to run," I said, not being able to fight the urge to laugh. Angelina smiled bigger and I knew it was an honest smile.

"I just…didn't want to disturb anyone, is all," she said. I shook my head, reaching for her shoulder.

"Not at all. You're more than welcome at Fred's grave. Don't be ridiculous," I said, unable to help myself. We started walking back to Fred's stone when Angelina looked up at me. I looked down at her and she looked away again. I wanted badly to ask why she so rarely looked at me, but kept silent. She stopped a few feet away and I stayed beside her.

"It just feels like…not real," she said, staring at the stone with disbelief.

"It feels like just yesterday he was standing beside me," she said, memories running all over the place in her head when I looked at her. She looked so distant, like she'd forgotten I was there. I stood in front of her and she stopped staring into space.

"How are you?" I asked.

She took a while to answer, as if searching for just the right words.

"I don't know," she said quietly.

"…You know, you don't have to dress like this every day," I said. I knew she wasn't happy; she didn't look the part.

"Come on, Angie, give yourself a break. I know how hard this is, believe me," I said. She looked away at a tree in the distance.

"If it's been hard for anyone, it's been hard for me," I said. "But I'm trying to cope. I'm trying to find peace. Fred would want me to. I know he doesn't want anyone crying about him for the rest of their lives." Angelina didn't speak.

"You don't have to stop mourning him, but you have to keep living…I see Fred in my dreams every night. He doesn't want me to be sad all the time. What do you think he'd tell you?" I said gently, trying not to pry, but I wanted to see her smile. If she started crying again, _I _was going to cry.

"I know, George," she said, barely above a whisper.

"I just don't know how. I…I haven't been this alone in a while. My parents are always at work at the Ministry, and every day I just sit in my house and think about what's happened, how many people we've lost," she said, her voice breaking. I was near tears at that point. The wind blew slightly and Angelina turned her face in the direction it had gone, still not facing me.

"Angie," I said. I didn't say anything else until she looked at me.

And then as if out of desperation, she threw her arms around me and began to sob. She cried so hard that I could feel her body shake in distress. Slowly, I knelt on the ground where she crashed, drawing my arms around her. And then I sat in the grass, just letting her cry into my chest. I hadn't been near anyone crying like that since the last time I'd seen mum cry about Fred. It made my eyes sting and I couldn't fight the tears anymore. But at the same time, it felt nice to hold Angelina. Her body was warm against mine and there was comfort. I felt a strange sensation in my stomach, like butterflies. I wasn't sure just what it was, but I knew it was Angelina's presence that had triggered it. She was clutching my sleeve tightly, as if in agony as she cried. It _was_ agony. I saw it in her dark eyes when she looked up at me. Again, it was like she was looking for something in my eyes but I couldn't tell what it was she was trying to find. She inhaled sharply through her sobs, starting to calm down a bit. Her grip on my sleeve eased up and I never broke contact from her gaze. She pushed her face into my chest again and let out an audible cry. I felt so much pain from her that it was nearly physical. All I wanted to do was quell it, sedate the suffering. I pressed my lips against her forehead, and then she was silent. The crying stopped as I did this. Her skin was so soft beneath my lips. It smelled of something sweet, like honey, or vanilla, perhaps chamomile. She was trembling as with chill when I ran my hand comfortingly up and down her back. I held her tighter and she looked up into my face again. I pressed my lips against Angelina's perfect, full, succulent ones. They were big and ambrosial as I moved my small ones against hers. I sighed and it sounded much more lascivious than I had intended for it to. Angelina pulled away from me, as if she'd been burned by fire. I didn't like the cold that suddenly hit me when she detached. I opened my eyes, wanting to say something, but I was at a loss for words.

"Don't do that," she said, her voice changing from sweet and delicate to almost…angry and surprised. She didn't look like that, though. She just looked confused as she stood up, backing away slowly. I stood up, trying to figure out how to explain myself, but I was in a daze. She kept backing away carefully, sparing a glance at Fred's gravestone.

"Angie, I—"

"Stay away from me," she said, pulling the back of her hand across her mouth, wiping me off her lips. I felt a pang of disappointment at her rejection. What had I done wrong?

"I—I only meant to comfort you," I said, defending myself. She turned away when I was in midsentence. I called after her gently, walking after her. She looked back at me, tears in her eyes and an expression that I couldn't quite read on her face before she disapparated and I stopped walking after her. They say that time heals all wounds, but I feared I had inflicted yet another wound upon Angelina as I stood there in the daylight, feeling rather awful…

"All I'd done was kiss her, Fred," I said, pulling the yellow petals off a dandelion where I laid near my brother's grave.

"How could that have hurt?" But I didn't need him to be there to tell me why. It dawned on me the amount of emotional pain Angelina must've been dealing with. From what she'd told me, there was really no one there to go through it with her. I imagined her sitting in bed all day, crying, and it made me feel bad. How could I have forgotten that she was my brother's _girlfriend_? How could I have forgotten that she must've loved him almost as much as I did? But it was like I was in a trance when I was touching her—I couldn't have helped myself! Fear overcame me then as I sat up. What if I never saw her again?


	3. Chapter 3

I sat in the store, wondering whether or not it was worth reopening. It would never be the same without Fred, but Fred would've wanted our dream to continue on. I knew that deep down. After spending some time wondering what I should do, I decided to go get something to eat. I went out into Diagon Alley. It was nearly seven in the afternoon and the sun was just beginning to set. I'd heard news of some new restaurant that had opened so I walked around until I found it. I went to the bar to have something to drink after I ate when I noticed someone out of the corner of my eye. I turned and recognized Angelina sitting at the end of the bar. She had her chin in her hands, a tall glass of something in front of her. I noticed that her eyes were closed, almost as if she were sleeping. I wondered if she even saw me come into the restaurant. I didn't know if I wanted to go up and bother her or not. Something told me she wouldn't be happy to see me. But as I was thinking this, I stood up and started towards her. I took a seat next to her and she opened her eyes, wondering who'd sat there when there were so many other places to sit. She glanced at me from the corner of her eye, and then it widened in this surprised way. She picked up her glass and started to drink whatever it was that was in it rather quickly.

"I was sitting over there and I saw you," I said immediately, not wanting her to think I was stalking her or something.

"I didn't know you'd be here. I just wanted to check this place out," I explained. She finished her drink and hiccupped. And then she nodded at me shortly, dropping a handful of galleons, probably more than what the drink had cost, on the bar table before standing up.

"I—I have to get going," she said, starting past me. I sighed and stayed where I was. And then I decided I'd had enough of this and I just wanted to talk to her. I followed her out of the door and she started walking madly through the crowd in the alley. I didn't call after her as I don't think she knew I was even following her. She turned a corner, slowing down. I was within arm's reach of her when I grabbed the back of her jacket, and just in time as she disapparated somewhere. I landed on something soft and heard Angelina's voice. She was crying again. I looked around, finding myself in a room, Angelina's back to me. It occurred to me that I was sitting on her bed and I must've been in her house. I immediately felt as if I were intruding. I hadn't known she would come here. The fact that she didn't know I was sitting there behind her made it even worse. I could've just disapparated away, but the sound of her crying made me feel so terrible. I wanted to make it stop. I shifted towards her. She felt this motion in the mattress and turned around with a start.

"_George_! What are you _doing here_?" she asked, backing up and falling on the floor. She hadn't felt me grab onto her mid-disapparation.

"N-nothing," I said, realizing just how creepy it was to be sitting there. I stood up extending an arm to help her up. She crawled backwards on the floor.

"Did you follow me?" she asked angrily. Standing up without my help and brushing herself off. I couldn't have lied about it then. I nodded.

"I was trying to get your attention and you just disapparated when I touched you," I explained. She calmed down a bit, but closed her eyes.

"Get out," she said. I wasn't quite sure what I'd heard, but when she pointed towards the door, I understood.

"What?" I asked.

"Get out," she said more firmly, but such sorrow on her face when she looked at me for a quick second.

"Angie, I—"

"Are you even listening to me, George? Get out of my house," she said. She wouldn't look at me again and I knew exactly why. I ignored her orders and took a step closer. She backed away and it was almost like whiplash to feel her rejection.

"I just wanted to talk to you," I said desperately. "Will you let me?" Angelina sighed and crossed her arms, walking over to a window where she stood with her back to me, looking out it.

"Talk," she said, waiting.

"…" I edged towards her a little bit and stopped.

"Well, what happened the other day, what I did…I didn't mean to offend you, or make you uncomfortable, or whatever it was that I did," I said, growing frustrated that she wasn't looking at me.

"It was the heat of the moment; you were clinging to me so hard, you were crying. What was I supposed to do?" When she didn't answer, I took another step towards her. My tone was rather venomous when I spoke again.

"_You_ hugged me. You threw yourself into my arms. What was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to react? I don't understand why you're angry with me. You're not the only one who misses Fred. You're not the only one dealing with all of this."

I heard a sigh from Angelina. I wished I could see her face so that I could see just what she meant by it.

"You're beautiful," I said after a long silence, stepping towards her again. She turned her head to the side so that she could see me slightly. I knew she was crying. She turned back towards the window and just stood there quietly.

"Why won't you _look_ at me?" I pleaded.

"You know why," she said quietly.

"What?" I asked. She was so quiet. I took another step until I was right behind her, almost touching her. I could smell that sweet smell again. It was her skin, her presence. I inhaled deeply. She pushed forward against the window and I didn't have to touch her to know she knew how close I was.

"You've always been one of the few that could _always_ tell us apart," I said quietly, leaning over the top of her head. I heard some breaths, as if she was laughing, maybe.

"You've always been beautiful, Angelina," I said. I reached up slowly, cautiously going for her shoulder when she turned around and bumped into me, she'd moved so fast. She closed her eyes tightly. I gazed down at her face and wiped the tears off her cheeks with my thumbs. She kept her eyes closed.

"I think you should go, George," she whispered. I kept my hands on her face and traced her bottom lip. It was so soft. I didn't want to take my hands from her face.

"I think you should leave," she breathed, barely able to speak. I leant against her until she was pressed against the window. She didn't try to push me off or pull away.

"Look at me, Angelina," I ordered.

"I can't," she said. Her eyes were closed but more tears spilled out and they dripped onto my hands. The sounds she was making were so painful to listen to. It tore my heart in two to listen to her cry. Unable to bare it any longer, I smashed my lips against hers. I was leaning in against her, pulling her up to my height to deepen the kiss. My nose pressed against hers and it was like I was melting into her face, her delicate chocolate skin melted against mine and it felt so nice. I didn't want to ever let her go. There was such sweetness about her lips that I'd never tasted before. They were so big and kissable. No one I'd ever kissed had lips quite like this. I brushed my hands under the back of her shirt, feeling the heat emanate off her smooth skin. My pulse quickened and my heart started beating too fast. I felt this excitement I'd never felt before as I roamed Angelina's back with my hands. Grasping the blades of her shoulders, I coaxed her mouth open and dipped my tongue inside it. I tickled the roof of her mouth and battled her tongue down when it fought back as if to push me out. I felt this insane urge to make love to her. It grew so desperate as I tasted her sweet insides. And she curtly pushed me back, hard. I'd always known her to be strong but I had to catch myself as I nearly fell to the floor. Angelina's hand met my cheek with such fervor I thought I'd been knocked blind. I stared in the direction in which she'd hit my face. I felt the heat growing there at the imprint of her hand. It didn't hurt nearly as much as the fact that she had pulled away from me. She immediately became apologetic. She didn't have to say it for me to realize. She was crying so much I thought the room would've flooded.

"Angelina, is that you? Are you home?" A man's voice called. I knew it was her father. Angelina's eyes widened at me for an instant. I heard footsteps approaching and Angelina stared at the door. Just as the knob was turning, I disapparated. I stood back in me and Fred's flat above the store, standing bewildered. I knew what the butterflies in my stomach were at that point. I wanted Angelina. The way I felt when I was near her was indescribable. I was determined to get near her again, whether she fought back or not.


	4. Chapter 4

I couldn't ignore the feeling in my chest as my heart beat rapidly. I placed my hands over it and sat down, trying to calm down, the taste of Angelina's sweet lips still on my tongue. I just wanted to be near her again. I touched my face which was still smarting a bit. I wondered if it'd leave a mark. I didn't care. It excited me that Angelina had so much feist and fire in her. I'd practically gotten a rise out of that slap. _Listen to yourself_, I thought, _you're going crazy. What's this all about?_ I shook my head to shut up the voice growing louder inside of it. I ambled to the kitchen and put the kettle on for some tea. I looked out the kitchen window and found the moon gazing down on me oddly. Its brightness reminded me of the light I saw in Angelina's eyes. I wanted to see her look at me that way again. Whatever it meant, it made me more curious. I wanted to get into her head, to know what she was thinking. She'd hardly spoken to me at all but I suddenly wanted to know everything about her, every graphic detail. I thought I'd been in love once, but the way I felt in that moment near Angelina topped it.

I woke up with the sun in my face, having forgotten to close the shades before I went to bed. Angie was the first thing that popped into my head. I knew where her room was; I could've just apparated there if I wanted to, but as I sat up and thought about her, I wasn't sure she'd want to see me again. A wrenching sensation filled my heart and I grabbed at my chest, tears spilling unexpectedly out of my eyes. It wasn't fair. I wanted her more than I'd wanted anything in as long as I can remember. Even more, I wanted Fred back. I wanted to make jokes with him and open the shop to entertain customers. I wanted more than I could ask for. I trudged out of bed and into the bathroom where I took a shower. I must've stood still in there for thirty minutes. When I got out, I got dressed and thought about what to do. What could I do? I couldn't very well stop by Angelina's house. She probably wouldn't even answer the door. How could I have screwed something up so badly? I dried my eyes and tried to put on a poker face as I went down into Diagon Alley and walked to the restaurant where I'd run into Angelina the day before. I looked around, hoping I'd see her, catch the back of her head sitting at the bar table. But she was nowhere to be found. I sighed and hardly ate what I'd ordered. I asked to have it wrapped up and brought the remains back to the flat, where I left it on the kitchen counter. After milling about unhappily, I decided I was going to do it. I was going to open the store. I cleaned up as best I could and turned the sign in the window to _open_, unlocking the doors. I went to the register and waited. While I did so, I sent an owl to Ron, asking him to help out. About an hour passed, during which time a handful of customers walked in and out, making various purchases. I started to feel better as the store became more crowded. Ron and Harry walked in and approached me at the register.

"How's it been going?" asked Ron, picking something up off the counter and scrutinizing it. He was curtly shot by a blast of purple dust which turned his entire face violet. I laughed genuinely, Harry joining in as Ron placed the little box of mischief on the counter.

"I won't be buying that one," he said humorlessly. Harry was just asking me what I needed help with when the bell above the door tolled and three more customers entered the store. I recognized Katie Bell and Luna Lovegood, but whoever it was with them seemed to be trying to pull away from the two girls' grip and walk back out into the street. Whoever it was wore a hooded robe, deep crimson in colour. Katie laughed and pulled the hood off to reveal Angelina's dark mane. She glanced around the shop unsurely, and it quickly became clear to me that she wanted to avoid running into me again at all costs.

"George?" Harry asked.

"Seriously, George, tell me this stuff washes out! I look like a bloody blueberry," Ron muttered.

"Excuse me," I said, not bothering to look at them. Katie was leading Angelina towards the love potions, giving me the perfect chance to walk up to her from behind without being noticed.

"Honestly, guys, I _don't_ need a love potion. I'm perfectly capable of getting a date without one, not that I _need_ a date."

"Oh, come on, Angie. You can't waste the rest of your youth crying about your last boyfriend. It's all you ever do these days," Katie informed, picking one up.

"These have been the most popular product in the store with the ladies," I said, inserting myself into the conversation. Luna and Katie turned around to greet me, but Angelina stared on, keeping her back to me.

"We're so sorry for your loss," Luna began in her air-fairy tone, "it must be so hard, I'd imagine, running this store alone and all…"

I nodded and smiled, half listening to what she was saying.

"Sure you're alright?" Katie asked. They turned in unison to look at Angelina, who had still not turned around, and then they looked at me, back at Angelina, and then at one another.

"Why don't we go check out the pygmy puffs, Katie? I've been dying to get one for the longest time," Luna said, grabbing Katie who seemed to follow reluctantly, still staring at me and Angelina's back. They were gone and she turned around and sighed.

"Look, George—" I shook my head, interrupting her.

"Will you come upstairs where it's quiet so we can talk?" I asked, hoping she'd agree. She looked at me for a moment and then nodded. I lead her up to the flat, looking at her as I unlocked the door. She was staring at something else, avoiding eye contact. I let her in first and securely closed the door after myself.

"Look, George," she began, not wanting to waste any more time, "I…I'm so sorry I hit you," she said, looking as apologetic as she sounded.

"It's okay," I said, finding it difficult not to smile. She could hit me again and it wouldn't have changed how I felt. She closed her eyes.

"I didn't mean to-to throw myself at you the other day, when you kissed me," she said, shaking her head. There was a familiar sinking feeling in my stomach.

"You shouldn't've kissed me," she said, finally opening her eyes, but I had the feeling she was staring at the center of my forehead because she wasn't looking in my eyes.

"I can't deal with this," she said, her voice breaking like she was going to cry. She apologized again and started to walk around me, and I blocked her exit. If she was going to let me down, I at least thought I deserved a reason.

"Why?" I asked quietly, placing my hands on her shoulders. She pulled away.

"Stop it," she growled, and I was surprised.

"Why?" I asked, stepping towards her. Angelina stepped backwards with every step that I took towards her.

"I can't be with you," she said, beginning to cry.

"Why?" I asked again, still approaching. She backed away until she hit the kitchen counter and had to stop. I leaned in against her, like I had before, and held her face gently in my hands.

"It hurts too much," she admitted.

"That's why you never look at me," I said, already knowing the answer.

"That's _why_ I can't be with you," she whispered, refusing to open her eyes again.

"It's not about Fred," I said, not believing her. She knew our faces distinctly.

"I can't lose anyone else," she breathed, telling a truth that I wasn't aware of from the start.

"But you won't," I said, wanting to make her stop crying again. It killed me so much to hear it. She said my name so quietly I barely heard it, and then she moved my hands from her face. I blocked the remaining exits by placing my hands on either side of her on the counter top.

"Stop," she said, glancing up at me, this deep and tormented anger in her eyes. Though they dripped sadly, I knew she really cared deep down. I placed my hands under her eyes again to wipe away the tears and she turned her face before I could kiss her.

"Stop it, George," she said. But she said it with such little effort that I knew she didn't mean it.

"I mean it," she said firmly.

"Do you?" I asked, tucking hair behind her ear and then kissing it.

"Do you mean it?" I asked, whispering right into her ear, holding her against me tightly. I felt her shiver and I kissed her ear again, and then her temple, her eye which was closed as she slowly turned her face back to me.

"Then stop me, Angelina," I said, just waiting for her to move. She didn't, and I knew she wouldn't stop me when I finally made it to her lips again. I kissed her like I did before and she tensed up like a stone, barely breathing beneath my lips. I wondered if she felt the spark too as I delved inside her mouth and tasted the familiar sweetness. I felt her relax when I pulled my arms around her and pushed her up onto the counter, where she finally threw her arms around my neck and acquiesced my touch. Her body wasn't fighting me anymore and I knew she wouldn't. I had her right where I wanted her.


	5. Chapter 5

I pulled away from Angelina's lips and started on her chin, kissing down her neck softly. I pushed the satiny robe back and slipped my hands under her shirt to touch her skin again. It was hot, burning me perfectly. Angelina stopped me, hopping down off the counter.

"What's wrong?" I asked, cupping her cheek. She pulled away from my hand again and started to wipe her eyes.

"I have to go meet Katie and Luna. They'll wonder where I've gone," she said, waiting for me to move so she could move.

"Angie—"

"I—just—this is happening all _too fast_, George," she said loudly. I backed up so she could move. She sighed, pausing at the door.

"I don't know. I just need some space, okay?" she said, turning around and looking right at me. I stepped towards her carefully.

"Okay. I'm sorry," I said, not wanting her to leave. Angelina shook her head.

"Don't be. I just…need to think about this, before anything else happens," she admitted, looking at me up and down. She stood there for a minute and I could feel the chemistry between us, see the longing in her eyes. I wished she'd stop denying it.

"It's just weird," she said, touching her mouth lightly, a nostalgic look on her face.

"Okay," I said, closing the gap between us.

"I won't kiss you again unless I ask first. Does that sound fair?"

I swore I saw red flare up under her cheeks for an instant as she glanced down at her feet, smiling.

"Okay," she said shyly and turned around to go out the door.

"Wait," I said, sounding much more desperate than I had hoped I would. Angelina turned around halfway.

"What is it, George?" she asked after I stood there just looking at her.

"Would it be okay if maybe I took you out to dinner, you know, so maybe we could talk more?" Angelina eyed me suspiciously before nodding. I pulled a quill out of my pocket and took her hand. I heard her inhale somewhat suddenly as I touched her. I turned the palm up and began to write down the name of a restaurant in Hogsmeade, unsure if she'd been there before. I didn't want to let go of her hand, but made sure to do so once I was finished writing. Angelina looked at it for a minute.

"I don't know if you've ever been there before," I admitted.

"Yeah, I think I know where that is," she said, nodding.

"Mmm, I'm not busy Saturday. How about then?" I was so happy suddenly. I tried not to smile too big.

"I'll owl you and let you know what time I'm free," she said, backing towards the door. I nodded hopefully and she left. I waited for a moment to ensure she was gone. I didn't want to make her any more uncomfortable than I might have already. I felt the butterflies in my stomach again.

Saturday night came and I felt so excited. For the first time since Fred died, I was actually looking forward to something. I made sure I had enough galleons in the pouch I stashed inside my pocket. I didn't think I'd ever spent so much time getting ready to go somewhere, other than to Fred's funeral. I just finished throwing on some really fancy dress robes before I looked in the mirror and decided that it was too much for the occasion. I didn't need to go over the top, but I just wanted her to think I looked nice. I took a deep breath and quickly changed into something a bit more casual before leaving my room, letting mum know where I was off to. I stood at Angelina's doorstep and rang the bell. I didn't wait long before a man appeared at the door, Angelina quickly after him.

"George Weasley?" he asked, verifying that I was in fact who his daughter had told him I was. I nodded.

"Good evening, Mr. Johnson," I said. He shook my hand and Angelina stepped past him to meet me. She grabbed my arm and started walking away from her house. I had the feeling she wanted to get away before he could say another word. When we got into Hogsmeade, Angelina sighed, and I knew something was bothering her.

"What is it?" I asked, stopping on the street. She looked up at me and smiled slightly.

"You know, I don't really feel like dinner," she said honestly.

"I feel too preoccupied to eat," she said. I could almost see the thoughts swimming around in her head.

"Would you like me to take you home?" I asked, thoroughly hiding the disappointment in my mind. Angelina shook her head vehemently. I smiled, relieved. She gripped my arm a bit tighter and I realized how chilly it had gotten that night.

"A cup of tea sounds nice," she said, "Maybe something homemade." I could tell she just didn't want to be out there if we were going to seriously talk at all.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked, "Anywhere and I'll take you," I said. There was this shy smile on her face again as she glanced down.

We ended up back at the flat, because I wasn't going to take her to the Burrow so that anyone could bother us. She was sitting comfortably on the couch while I made some tea. When I came back to find her sitting there, she was staring out the window at the moon. I placed the cups on the coffee table in front of the couch and took a seat beside her.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her voice utterly broken as she cried. I was immediately comforting. Angelina was crying really hard. I wasn't sure what else to do, so I sat closer and clasped her hand.

"What's wrong?" I asked sweetly. She was too torn to speak for a moment so I waited patiently.

"If it's because of Fred, I don't want you to feel any kind of pressure. I never should've thrown myself at you like that."

Angelina shook her head. She took a few breaths and calmed down enough to speak.

"It's not about that," she said quietly. I rubbed her hand comfortingly and she calmed down some more.

"All this time, all these years," she said softly, "I've been through hell and back. I'm tired of this," she said.

"Of what?" I asked, genuinely confused and concerned.

"My parents," she choked, another wave of tears coming through, stopping her from speaking for a moment.

"My parents have always hated each other. I've seen the damage. My dad is a general prick. Ever since I can remember, he's put my mum through hell," she said, this anger firing up in her voice. And then I was beginning to understand where it was coming from. I'd never seen this side of her before. She sighed greatly, containing herself.

"He's a bastard. Always made more money than her, but doesn't know how to manage his business, buying all kinds of expensive things, ruining her credit, making her life miserable. You know, when I was sixteen, she even told me that he'd hit her once. She took him to court for it, but she still married him…he hides his money in his homeland, just to make it even harder for her to leave him without him getting a _galleon_. All he did was pay for my schooling, and now that I'm older I understand it to be the only reason my mum ever stuck with him all this time. He's no father to me. I'm not sure I ever had one. He's cheating on my mum with his _best friend's wife_, and his best friend doesn't even know it! He's always been horrible to me; telling me I'm lazy, that I do everything wrong. I _hate him_! I hate it all. The confidence I have…it comes from a very vulnerable place. I don't think I've ever told anyone all of this," she said, staring at her feet. There was suddenly a heavy calmness about her, like she'd let everything off her chest. I could see it and I was glad she felt better.

"I'm so sorry, Angie," I said, holding her hand in both of mine. She turned to look at me, crying bitterly.

"They set a horrible example for me, about what it means to be loved, about what it means to be in a relationship…and ever since Fred died, it's got me wondering if I've ever really been happy at all," she said honestly. "He made me feel happy, like nothing else mattered." I felt my eyes watering for the sadness I felt upon hearing all of this.

"I just _can't_ let anyone hurt me the way my dad has," she said, "You understand, George?" It was all I could do to pull her into my arms tightly. Everything made sense now, why she'd reacted the way she did the first time I kissed her. I was starting to understand her for the person that she was and I felt a deeper connection. Angelina breathed heavily into my shoulder, trying to stop crying. She could have cried all night and I would've stayed there and held her. I wasn't going to leave her until I knew she was okay.

"It's all going to be okay," I said, though it wasn't something I could've definitely promised.

"I'm going to make it alright." I just wanted her to feel some semblance of comfort, maybe even hope. She held onto me just as securely and I didn't hear her crying anymore.

"I'm so sorry," I said again. She had her face pressed into my arm.

"I'm here for you now," I said. We stayed that way for at least five minutes. I was so comfortable that I didn't want to move.

"Are you okay?" I finally asked.

"I am now," said Angelina, letting up on me and facing me. Her eyes were still wet but she was done crying.

"I'm sorry to have spoiled the evening," she said, sniffling.

"You didn't spoil anything," I said honestly, smiling. I grabbed her a tissue from the box on the coffee table and she quickly wiped her eyes and nose. She smiled up at me and this time I knew she was looking at _me_. She wasn't holding back anymore.

"What you said about what it means to be loved, what exactly did you mean?" I asked. Angelina glanced down for a second.

"I'm not sure…I guess I just meant that I've only seen my parents as an example of love. It gave me the idea that if I ever met someone and loved them, they'd just manipulate me and treat me badly. But when I met Fred and he was amazing to me, he just changed my mind entirely. When he died, I just thought…I thought that I'd never find that again." To hear her speak candidly of Fred was somehow refreshing. Even though she was talking about him instead of me, I knew she was honest and I was proud of my brother for having been good to her.

"How did you feel about Fred?" I asked. Angelina looked up at me, like she was afraid of something.

"Angie, I want to know," I said.

"I loved him," she answered without hesitation.

"I'm glad," I said almost as soon.

"I don't want this to be awkward for you," I said, "I know Fred would want us both to be happy." After a second or two, Angelina nodded.

"I think you're right, George," she whispered. We hadn't let go of each other. Angelina lifted her face up to mine and I took the opportunity to kiss her. There was something magical about it this time. It was special, considering everything she'd just said. She had been through so much pain and still found it in her heart to let me in. She was so much stronger than she knew. I wanted her to know it. Angelina returned the kiss just as passionately as I'd kissed her and before I knew it, she was sitting on my lap, straddling me. I stopped for a second.

"Is this what you really want?" I asked. Angelina grinned. She responded by kissing me back, pushing her hands through my hair. This felt so good to me. She broke away from my lips to start kissing my chin and down my neck. I closed my eyes as she started to unbutton my vest and pull it off. She then went for my shirt and I took it off and threw it over the couch. Her hands were warm on my pecs and the heat coming from her inner thighs under her skirt was inviting. I picked her up and carried her towards my room. She never took her gaze from my face as I laid her on the bed and started to take off her shoes, carefully reaching for the tights at her waist under her skirt and pulling them down. She leant back on her elbows and watched me as I pulled the tights off and held each leg in my hands, kissing the shins up to her knees, where I pushed her skirt up. I was kneeling on the floor, kissing her skin when she sat up and held my face in her hands. She pulled me up to join her on the bed and I lay atop her gently, kissing her full lips. I tugged at the skirt and she helped me pull it down her waist until it came off, followed by the yellow blouse she was wearing, leaving her in a bra and panties. They were yellow, matching in design and complimenting her skin tone with splendor. Angelina's hands moved to my belt and started to unbuckle it, never breaking from the kissing. I finished pulling the belt off and shortly slipped out of my pants. We sat up in my bed, Angelina straddling me again. I pulled my hand gently down the back of her head and stopped at the clasp of her bra, which I undid and took off slowly, exposing two beautiful breasts that I just wanted to caress. I turned and laid her down carefully. She closed her eyes and moaned softly as I planted a trail of kisses down her chest, placing a hand on each breast and massaging them gently. Her body was perfect, toned from years of Quidditch, yet succulent with curves and limber as an agile dancer. I felt myself growing uncomfortably hard. Angelina was the only thing I wanted then. I held a leg in each hand, drawing them by the calves over my shoulders. I lowered my head between her thighs and kissed her. She smelled sweet, as before, like chamomile, or something I couldn't quite place. I felt her hands at the back of my head where she pulled me up by my hair carefully, sitting up. I started to pull off her last article of clothing. I paused as she stared at my fingers slipping under the waistband of her lace underwear.

"Can I take this off? Can I make love to you?" I felt so desperate, but I wanted this to all be exactly what she wanted. I didn't want to make any more mistakes with her. Angelina cocked her head to the side curiously. She pushed her hand through my hair again, touching my face softly. She nodded and smiled in a way that just drove me insane. I had to have her. She laughed and fell back on the bed as I pulled the underwear off and threw them over my shoulder. I lay atop her carefully again. She was naked and I'd forgotten about my boxers as I rubbed against her eagerly.

"Let me help you with that," she said, reaching for my hips and pulling at my boxers. She got them off about halfway and I ignored them, pulling her hips towards me and entering the warm asylum between her legs. I moaned in relief, as did Angelina. She was so tight that I had to be still for a moment to control myself. I didn't want to cut things short. I wanted this to last to Angelina's satisfaction. She gasped as I delved inside her. She was wet for me, which only excited me more as I gave a thrust, watching Angelina's face contort into pure pleasure. I pinned her wrists against the mattress and marveled at the contrast of her beautiful dark skin to my wan complexion. I'd never seen anything more beautiful as my hands traveled teasingly down her arms. I liked the way it looked to see my waist sailing between her thighs, her moans as I pushed myself roughly against her. I pulled the backs of her knees up, deepening penetration and causing her to moan unremittingly. I was breathing so fast, giving her the best that I could. I just wanted to make her feel good, as I certainly was myself. Her entire body amazed me, rocking with pleasure. She moaned my name, clawing at my back. Sweat dripped down my face but I didn't mind it at all. Angelina's body writhed with pleasure and I felt her tightening on me, sending me reeling into rapture. We climaxed together. It couldn't have been more perfect as I paused in those few seconds of bliss. She grabbed at my abdomen like a cat in heat scratching at the front door. The fact that I'd made her feel that way gave me an ultimate sense of accomplishment and I kissed her happily for a while before she pushed up on me, burning with heat. I lay beside her carefully, on my side, unable to take my eyes off her perfection. She was still trying to catch her breath but I couldn't stop touching her. Those breasts were perfect. _She_ was magic. I traced my hand down her throat, between her breasts, down her midriff, dipping slightly into her navel and stopping just above the perfection between her legs that had caused me such pleasure. I kissed her hips, the bones slightly visible in such a svelte way. She was breathing softly now, which I soon realized when she didn't touch me back. I looked down at her to find her eyes closed.

"Angelina," I said softly. She was fast asleep. I smiled and carefully pulled the covers back around her so she would be warm. I watched her lying there until I couldn't keep my eyes open and fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's note: I see myself putting some of my own personal life into these last two chapters. I think it makes for a difficult plot, but parts of it are honest with respect to me, and I hope you'll find it not so difficult to read.

I woke up just in time to see Angelina pulling her blouse back on. I sat up in bed, wondering what time it was. She started to head for the door when she noticed me out of the corner of her eye. She kept walking anyway. I scrambled to find my boxers and threw them back on, half tripping as I dashed out of the room after her. She was standing in front of the door.

"Just like that? You were going to leave so I'd wake up alone?" I asked, joking a little bit, but she knew I'd meant it.

"George, that's not what I meant," she said, turning around.

"Then what did you mean, Angie?" I asked, stepping closer to her.

"It's just really late and I should've been home by now. My parents are going to be so angry," she said, worry filling her eyes.

"But what about everything you just said? Let them be angry. You don't have to go back there," I said, placing my hands on her hips. She sighed.

"You don't understand. My mum goes _mental_ about me. She's probably ready to call the Ministry to report me missing. I wouldn't doubt if she already has." I laughed.

"What time is it, anyway?"

"Just past one. I was supposed to be home by midnight," she admitted.

"Okay, well let me take you back. We'll just say that we lost track of time. We kind of did," I said. Angelina's face flushed for an instant and I thought it was adorable. I hurried back into my room and threw my clothes back on, smoothing my hair down as best I could. When I came out, Angelina was still standing at the door, brushing her hair. She put the brush back in her purse and began to smooth out her eyebrows and wipe her mouth, fixing the bit of makeup she had been wearing. I knew she didn't want to walk back into her house looking in a fashion that would actually give her dad a reason to be angry. She laughed shyly upon noticing me watching her. I grabbed her hand and we started outside…

I knocked on Angelina's front door, and as I did so, noticed her clutch my arm even harder than she had been a few seconds earlier. Without much waiting at all, the door swung open and Angelina's father glared down at her, and then at me, pulling her by the arm and into the house before either of us had the chance to say anything.

"Didn't I tell you what time to be back?" he shouted.

"Where did you take her?" he asked, turning to me. I felt alarmed by his composure, yet I took a few steps up towards the door, wanting to see Angelina. Mr. Johnson put a hand firmly and warningly on my chest, keeping me back.

"You were thoroughly aware what time her curfew is," he said.

"Angelina? You're home?" A woman's voice called from inside the confines of the house. I saw a witch who looked much like Angelina, except older, yet she still had something so youthful about her. I recognized it to be her mother, throwing an arm in relief around her daughter's shoulders.

"If you'll forgive me, sir," I said hastily, not wanting to create issues for Angelina once I'd left.

"_Where did you take her_?" Mr. Johnson asked angrily, stopping me at the threshold where I'd stepped.

"Is everything alright?" Mrs. Johnson asked calmly. Clearly, she wasn't as upset as Angelina's father. She was only happy to see her daughter was home safely.

"Don't come here again," said Mr. Johnson.

"You hear me, boy? Stay away from my daughter."

I wasn't having this anymore. I felt my expression switch from pleading to pissed off. I peeled Mr. Johnson's hand off my chest.

"We lost track of time, sir," I said firmly, yet still trying to maintain a polite composure.

"Stop it, dad," Angelina said, losing her patience too. She walked towards us and Mr. Johnson turned to push her back into the house. Angelina's mother gasped, turning on Mr. Johnson as Angelina stumbled back and fell. He said something to her in a native tongue that I didn't understand.

"Don't you ever push her," Angelina's mum yelled, helping her up. Mr. Johnson pushed me off the threshold, warning me not to come back yet again. He slammed the door shut and I heard her parents immediately fighting. I couldn't leave. The fact that Mr. Johnson had pushed his own daughter had set me on edge. I wasn't leaving until I knew Angie was okay. I tried to apparate inside but to no avail. Clearly, they were protective enough to charm the premises of their house as not to let just _anyone_ apparate inside. I heard what sounded like a lamp shattering.

"Stop it!" Angelina screamed. I heard another sound, and it was like flesh hitting flesh. I heard her scream.

"Angelina!" Mrs. Johnson cried with such horror that my heart skipped a beat.

"You'd rather her run around like a whore?" Mr. Johnson shouted.

"Don't you _ever_ touch her like that! You're a monster—a pathetic, evil monster!" Angelina's mum shouted. I was trying to turn the handle. I needed to get in there. I tried using my wand but it didn't work. And then I heard footsteps retreating, and I knew Angelina was rushing away from her parents as they fought relentlessly. I backed up, waiting to see a light go on somewhere. It did and I ran towards the trellis that conveniently trailed up the side of the house. I crawled up it, slipping a few times, but I made it to the top and knocked on Angelina's window.

"Angie?" I called. I could hear her crying. There was a pause as she rushed over to the window and opened it, helping me inside.

"Oh no," I said. "Merlin…" I muttered, observing the bruise that was forming on her cheek. She threw herself against my chest where I caught her tightly. The fighting downstairs sounded so cruel that I couldn't have possibly left Angelina there. No, I wasn't going to leave her.

"Come on. You're not staying here. I'm getting you out of this," I said, holding her shoulders and looking down at her.

"Do you have a trunk? Let me take you away from all of this." I led her towards her bed where she sat down, trying to calm her down. I kissed her forehead.

"Everything's going to be okay. I promise," I said, gripping her hands. She nodded.

"In the closet," she said quietly, closing her eyes. I rushed over to it and found just what I was looking for. I started to grab various clothing items from the closet and put them in Angie's trunk. I paused and looked at her. There was this utterly numb look on her face.

"Should I call the Ministry? Is he going to hurt your mum?"

Angelina shook her head surely. It occurred to me how desensitized she'd become to the fighting between her parents, but I kept pausing between filling the trunk; it just sounded so violent to me that I couldn't help feeling mortified. My parents _never_ fought like that. I never remembered hearing such unforgivable exchange of words as a child. It was clear to me that this wasn't the happiest environment to spend one's childhood. I just wanted to get Angelina out of there. I knelt in front of her where she was staring at the wall.

"Is there anything else you need?" I asked gently. She glanced down at me with such empty eyes. I figured it was her way of dealing with so much pain. She just went numb. She stood up and went to her bedroom door, opening it. I grabbed the rucksack from the closet and followed her, not wanting any more harm to come of her as she walked down the dark hallway into another room. I approached as a light went on and found her in a bathroom. She opened the cabinet and pulled out everything she needed. I held the bag open and she put the stuff inside. We then went back to her room, me grabbing her hand and hurrying. Though her parents were downstairs, I didn't want them to know she was about to leave. She finished filling the trunk and then stood there quietly. I put the rucksack on my back and held Angelina's hand. She sat carefully on the trunk, grabbing the handle and I disapparated back to the Burrow.

Though it was late at night, my mum and dad were up, drinking tea in the kitchen together. When they heard Angie and me coming in, I knew all they could hear were her cries as I tried to console her. They rushed into the family room where we had apparated, immediately wondering what was going on. I started explaining desperately what had happened, sitting Angelina on the couch where my mum started to comfort her.

"Dad, he shoved her—he hit her," I said, feeling the rage fill me. There was a look of utter disgust on my father's face as I told him everything.

"It was awful. I couldn't leave her there," I said. My dad put his hands on my shoulders comfortingly, assuring me that everything would be fine. He said he'd go have a talk with the Johnsons the following day and try to sort it all out. Mum had gotten Angie to stop crying, telling her she was more than welcome to spend the night. I was relieved that she was safe at the Burrow and that her father wasn't going to get away with this. It just made me so angry that I couldn't think straight. Angie was the sweetest person I knew. I didn't want to see her going through so much pain. I wasn't going to let it happen anymore. I glanced at the staircase where Ron was rubbing his eyes sleepily, wondering what the hell was going on. Ginny started to step down as well and I knew all the noise had woken them up.

"Go on back to bed, kids," said my dad, "Everything's fine."

"Is that Angelina?" Ron mumbled, squinting into the room.

Angie had refused to sleep in Fred's bed in our room, so Ginny let her sleep in her own room. I knew it would have felt strange for her to sleep in there with me, as it was strange for me to sleep in the room I'd shared with Fred for so long, without him. I slept terribly. When I woke up, mum had made breakfast already. I found Angelina sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of tea.

"I'm so sorry you had to see all of that," she said. I reached for her hand across the table.

"No. There's nothing to be sorry about," I said, "_none_ of this is your fault. I can't believe your father…" I just couldn't think about it anymore.

"He won't get away with it," I said, holding her hands securely.

Dad had sent an owl to Angelina's parents. They responded in the same day, asking where Angelina was and wanting her home immediately. Something told me her dad had written back. The tone of the letter wasn't so friendly, but Monday evening, my dad accompanied Angie and I back to her house. She held my hand so tightly as we approached and I knew she felt uneasy. I kissed her temple, hoping she'd relax just a bit. I wasn't going to let anything happen. My dad knocked and shortly after Mr. Johnson came to the door. He let us all inside and led us to their family room to sit down.

"Where's mum?" Angie asked as soon as she sat down. She called for her but no one came.

"At a meeting," said Mr. Johnson.

"You know she's always got meetings," he said to Angie. She looked at me nervously.

"She doesn't need to be here," said Mr. Johnson.

"Plain and simply, she'll be happy when she sees you've come home. Arthur, thank you for stopping by but it wasn't necessary. The two of you can go," he said, refusing to look at me. I felt so much anger at this man I barely knew but I kept it inside and stayed seated.

"I didn't come here to tell you I'm coming home," said Angie. Her father glared at her.

"What do you _mean_?" he asked. Angie shook her head, glaring back at him.

"I think you know why," my dad started. Mr. Johnson's gaze shifted angrily over to my dad.

"Excuse me?"

"I think your daughter has the bruises to prove it. As a father, I can't sit by idly and allow what happened the other night to continue. It is clear to me that there are some issues between you and your wife, of which Angelina has nothing to do—"

"You come into _my _house with _my_ daughter and speak to me like this? You have no right—"

"All she wants is to be happy, and clearly she isn't happy here, with a father who would lose his temper enough that he would harm his own child," my dad finished confidently. Mr. Johnson stood up defensively, and my dad stood up to face him.

"Arthur, this has _nothing _to do with you. It has to do with your son and _my_ daughter. He brought her back well past curfew, and then he sneaks her away in the middle of the night. Get the hell out of my house, both of you," said Mr. Johnson warningly. My dad glanced over at Angie. She nearly hid behind me, grasping my arm with both hands.

"We tried to tell you, we lost track of time. It was an accident," I said, trying to remain calm.

"Angelina—stop this foolishness and go to your room. Now!" Her father screamed when she stayed put. She jumped, clearly frightened. I stood up, blocking him from getting to her. Mr. Johnson's eyes widened in disbelief at me.

"She doesn't want to be around all of this. The way you treat her mother, I'm not surprised," I said angrily.

"We don't want to have to bring this to the Ministry, but we will if need be," said my father. Angelina was gripping my arms from behind me. I could feel her uneasiness. Mr. Johnson brandished his fist at my dad, who stood his ground firmly.

"Go ahead, Abe. Hit me," he said, calling Angie's dad by his first name.

"Because if you do, there will only be further evidence of the instability of this family environment." Mr. Johnson backed down. My dad nodded at me and we started to leave. Angie gasped and stopped following me suddenly. Her dad had grabbed her wrist.

"How can you do this, betray your heritage, bring this white man to take you away from your family? They've taken so much from us already. You leave this house and you leave this life. I will disown you," said Mr. Johnson threateningly. My dad had pulled out his wand and pointed it at Angie's dad.

"Honestly, Abe, you think that's what this is about? We hold prejudice against _no one_. All I'm trying to do is help."

"How_ dare _you come into _my _home and point your wand at me? You come into my house and accuse me of all kinds of things, and then try to take my daughter from me?" Mr. Johnson yelled, ripping Angelina away from me. She was scared and I could see it in her eyes as she reached for me. I eased around Mr. Johnson and grabbed Angie. He stayed where he was as long as my dad had his wand drawn. We walked out of the room and my dad followed us. We walked out of the house and a wave of relief washed over me.


	7. Chapter 7

Angelina was so uneasy the entire time we got back to the Burrow. My dad was talking about getting her a restraining order, wondering if he could speak to Mrs. Johnson, but I had been half listening as I stared at Angelina.

"I want to see my mum," she said.

"Do you believe she was really in a meeting?" my dad asked. Angelina nodded and sighed. I pulled my arm around her shoulder as we walked towards the house.

"Perhaps you can owl her directly," dad suggested.

"I'll just stop by her office tomorrow," said Angie, nodding and devising the plan in her head, wanting to avoid her dad at all costs. I couldn't have blamed her.

"I'll go with you, if you want," I said, closing and locking the door once Angelina made it inside. She turned around and looked at me for a moment. I wondered what she was thinking, what she would say, but she just stepped towards me and pulled her arms around me tightly. I kissed the top of her head and stood there as long as she held onto me.

"You don't have to go back there ever again," I said protectively.

"I just want to see my mum," Angie choked, and I knew she was crying again. I felt that her mother was just as much a victim of Mr. Johnson's carelessness as Angelina had been. I remembered hearing the things her mother screamed at Mr. Johnson just a few nights before.

"That crap he said about disowning you if you left, you're okay with that?" I asked quietly.

"Are you _kidding_ me?" Angelina asked. She looked up at me.

"Oh, I just want to forget he even exists. Your dad has been more of a father to me in the past half hour than that man ever was in eighteen years." I could tell from her expression how serious she was. I kissed her forehead lingeringly.

"D'you want to go upstairs?" I asked, still reading the worry in her eyes. She nodded and started towards the staircase.

"George?" my mother called from the other room. Angelina paused.

"Go on. I'll be right there," I said, wondering what my mother wanted. She was calling me from inside the kitchen. Angelina continued up the stairs and I walked into the kitchen to find my parents standing by the sink, my mum wiping her hands dry on a dishcloth. I was under the impression dad had told her all about what had just happened with Mr. Johnson. My mum shook her head sadly.

"She's been through so much, that poor girl. Tell Angelina that she's welcome to stay as long as she wants," said my mum, stepping towards me and pushing my hair out of my face. She stood on her toes to kiss me on the cheek.

"I'm so proud of you, baby," she said, her eyes watering, "for becoming the wonderful man that you are." I felt my own eyes water and I just wished so badly that Fred could've been standing there with me…

When I went upstairs to mine and Fred's room, I found Angelina sitting on my bed in a bathrobe, having just showered. She was rubbing some sort of lotion on her legs and paused upon me opening the door.

"How'd you know which bed was mine?" I asked, closing the door and walking inside to meet her. She glanced over at Fred's empty bed, and I saw a glint of sadness in her eyes for a second.

"I don't know. The sheets smelled like you," she said, a shining luster in her dark eyes. I kicked my shoes off and walked in my socks over to Angelina, kneeling there and placing a hand on either side of her. She sighed and held my face. I recognized her familiar scent and realized it was the lotion that she was putting on. I closed my eyes and inhaled. It was difficult to tell exactly what that scent was; a cross between honey, vanilla, and chamomile. Angie laughed quietly.

"You smell so good," I said deeply, exhaling. The way she rested her hands at the nape of my neck sent shivers down my spine.

"It's my mum's brew. She makes perfumes and other things on the side," said Angelina, massaging my shoulders. I kept my eyes closed, basking in the sound of her voice, the way she smelled, her touch. I felt her lips on my forehead and there was a happiness inside that I couldn't exactly describe. I was so comfortable with her, as if we'd known each other our entire lives. I parted her knees and ran my hands slowly up her legs under the robe, stopping at her hips where I massaged roughly. Angie moaned and fell forth against me and I caught her. I opened my eyes, kissing her neck. I was filled with the overwhelming urge to ravish her. She had thrown her arms around me, rubbing my back, intense longing in her touch. I started to unbutton my shirt, pulling back to look up at Angelina. I could tell that she was naked under that robe from the way I could see most of her chest and her belly button where it hung open slightly. I took my shirt off and Angie rubbed my shoulders. I leant forth and kissed her at the solar plexus. She sighed and rubbed her hands through my hair and down my neck repeatedly. I pulled her waist forward closer to the edge of the bed and started kissing down her stomach, pulling at the robe. Angelina stopped me and I paused upon hearing someone coming down the hall. I smiled up at her mischievously as whomever it was walked past the door. She smiled like she was going to laugh but refrained. She inched back on the bed and I stood up and started taking my pants off. She knelt against the headboard and watched me disrobe. I got naked and crawled up to meet her, going for the robe. She closed her eyes as I untied it, suddenly looking like she was falling asleep.

"Are you alright?" I whispered. Angelina opened her eyes and nodded, not stopping me as I pulled the robe off to reveal the perfection that was her body. She wrapped her arms around my waist and we kissed for a long time. It could've been minutes or hours, but everything was perfectly fine in that moment. It was as if nothing else mattered when I was near Angelina. All of my worries, my pain, the sadness—all of it dissipated when she touched me. I was sure of it then that I was falling in love with her. She rubbed my back firmly. I was thoroughly hard by that point. I guided one of her hands to my groin and she touched me shyly at first, until I pressed her hand firmly there, moaning eagerly. I pulled her legs on either side of me towards my hips and she laughed. It was a beautiful sound to hear from her after such an emotional couple of days. I was glad I could make her laugh. I searched for her in the dark, unable to see clearly. Angelina took her hand and guided me into the paradise between her legs. I groaned with pleasure, trying to keep my voice down. The walls of the Burrow weren't that thick, which I had to keep reminding myself as I pulsed forwards against her. I undulated my waist soothingly between her thighs, quickening the pace when I felt her get wet. I looked down at the woman moaning beneath me. She looked like a goddess. Even in the darkness I was aware of her beauty and the way her eyes shined up at me innocently. I intertwined our fingers and she smiled. I kissed her, keeping my nose pressed against hers and staring down into her eyes, pausing in motion. She lifted her waist up impatiently, yearning for me. She looked at me desperately, pulling my lower back down hard between her legs. I felt like we were one entire person, bodies and souls intertwined. She held my face in her hands and searched it wildly with her eyes. I wondered again what she was looking for. I continued to thrust and she moaned, tilting her head back. I gormandized over her, squeezing her hip bone and becoming rougher the closer we got to climax. I didn't think it mattered anymore how hard we tried to keep quiet; the bed was probably scraping across the floor, and I didn't care. Angelina's back arched and she tightened around me. I came, such euphoria gripping me, every nerve firing and my senses crying out in pleasure. We were both out of breath. Angelina wrapped her legs around my waist, wanting me to stay. I kissed her feverishly, pulling my hands through her magnificently thick hair. After a minute or two, she unlocked her legs, but I stayed and admired her visage as she closed her eyes tiredly.

"So much for a shower," she said comically. I laughed quietly, touching her cheek. I just stared down at her for a bit. Eventually she opened her eyes and looked up at me.

"…What? You look like…like you're high or something," she said, fighting a laugh.

"I am, I guess."

She giggled. I loved the sound of her laughing, especially while my body was still pressed against hers. The way it felt as it vibrated through me tickled.

"You're so amazing," I said, still amazed at everything about her.

"Why?" she asked, gently pushing a hand through my hair. I sighed and kissed her wrist, inhaling her sweet scent.

"Because you just are." She paused upon feeling the scar where my ear should have been. I watched her expression carefully, waiting for it to be one of horror, but it never happened.

"You never told me what happened here," she said, touching it. I kissed her wrist again.

"It got hexed off. Some stupid Death Eater or something," I said, not really wanting to remember that night, the danger and the ones we lost.

"I still think you're beautiful," she said, closing her eyes and turning her head to the side. She looked about ready to sleep.

"I love you, Angelina," I said. I wasn't even thinking before I blurted it out. Angelina's eyes popped back open and she looked up at me.

"What did you just say?"


	8. Chapter 8

Angelina was literally surprised by what I'd said. I looked at her unsurely and she sat up, causing me to do the same.

"I said, 'I love you,'" I repeated, trying to sound no less firm than I had the first time I'd said it.

"…Is that okay?" I asked, feeling this sinking sensation in my heart. Angelina opened her mouth, like she was going to say something but then she just blinked at me.

"Ang—"

"I'm sorry. It's just such a serious, loaded thing to say, George," she said, breaking contact from my eyes and pulling the robe back on. I felt myself slowly growing upset. Had I offended her?

"Well, I…"

Angelina sighed, pulling her legs to her chest and staring into space. I wasn't sure what to say next.

"Well, what did you think I meant by what we did just now?" I asked honestly. She glanced at me for a second. Then she just shook her head.

"You don't," she said quietly. I was confused. Most girls would've been pleased to hear the guy they just slept with say something like that to them. Angelina just looked…lost.

"Angie, I think I know how I feel," I said, touching her calves.

"I think I should go to sleep now," she said, looking tired, pulling my hands from her calves.

"Goodnight, George," she said hastily, placing a hand on my shoulder and climbing out of my bed. I assumed that she was off to Ginny's room. I sat there on my bed, feeling confused, wondering if I'd said the wrong thing. But I thought what I'd said to Angelina was a beautiful thing, yet she just got up and ran away from me. After sitting there wondering what had gone wrong, I stood up and decided to take a shower before sleeping. I had gotten pretty sweaty. I leant back against the shower wall, letting the water splash over my head after lazily washing my body. I didn't want to wash to well and take Angelina's scent off my skin. She wasn't going to be sleeping next to me that night and I wanted to at least smell her as if she were there.

"What did I say?" I asked out loud. Of course I didn't get any sort of answer. It was just silence. I turned off the shower and stood there a while, dripping dry. I grabbed my towel but didn't bother wrapping it around my waist or anything, and opened the door. I had figured it was late enough that mum or dad wouldn't be walking around wondering why I was wet and naked. But when I pulled the door open, Ron squinted tiredly at me, apparently having woken to use the loo. He turned his gaze away from me, closing his eyes.

"Blimey, George. It's called a towel," he said, stepping in past me and beginning to pee, not waiting for me to close the door. I sighed and started slowly back to my room. When I slept I had a bunch of weird dreams. All I wanted to do was wake up…

"George…George, dear," someone said, shaking my shoulders gently. I looked up at my mum.

"Are you going to want breakfast? Should I fix you a plate before I go out to the yard?" she asked. It seemed that lately my mother was even more avid about getting everyone in the house to eat. She had been cooking more than ever. I thought that it might have been one of her ways of distracting herself from thinking about the son she'd lost. I sighed and closed my eyes, shaking my head. And then they popped open and I sat up straight, surprising mum.

"I-is Angelina still here?" I asked, suddenly fearing that perhaps she'd taken off and left. Mum smiled, caressing my face.

"She actually went off to the Ministry about an hour ago to go see her mother. You know, George, I think the two of you are getting so close…like perhaps…you were meant to find each other, after all that's happened." There was this twinkle in my mum's eyes that was teary, yet she was smiling and she looked genuinely happy. For the first time since she was sitting there, I realized that she was holding a letter. It looked like Bill's handwriting.

"I'm happy that you picked a young witch as determined and motivated as Angelina," she said, still touching my hair. "She has a bright future. I can tell." She began to plant a kiss on my forehead when I reached for the letter.

"What's this, mum?"

"Oh!" she said in surprise, a smile lighting her face.

"That's what I really came to wake you about—you're going to be an uncle, sweetheart," she said as I took the letter and started to read it. Fleur was four months pregnant. As I was thinking about what it would be like to have a little niece or nephew, I wondered if my eldest brother and my sister-in-law had known since Fred's death that they were going to be parents. I stopped wondering and realized that they must not have wanted to bring up the news during such a sad time, but I hadn't seen mum smile like that in ages and it made me happy.

"Fred would love this," I said, grinning. Mum hugged me tightly and then stood up, telling me what was in the kitchen before she made her way to the door with a pair of garden gloves that were hidden in her apron.

Angelina was happy that she still had somebody to make her feel loved as her mother bustled out of the middle of a meeting just to see her. Angelina and her mother stood in the office, just holding onto each other for a while. Angie looked up at her, teary eyed, the face she had known so well and so lovingly since her youth.

"Dad's gone," said Angelina's mother simply. There was a mutual sense of relief between the two of them. Angelina had known it for a while that her mother wanted a divorce, but didn't want Angelina to grow up without a father. Either way, things had worked out for the better and she knew it.

"The secretary told me you were here and I just walked out of that stupid meeting," said Mrs. Johnson, or rather now Ms. Pulchrum. She'd taken back her maiden name.

"I've been thinking of quitting this job, Angie, ever since you were little. It isn't that it's not rewarding and pays well enough, but we never spend enough time together or talk…where have you been staying?" Angelina looked down, hoping her mum wouldn't see her blush.

"With the Weasleys. They've been so good to me, mommy," said Angelina, fighting tears. Even whilst she was dating Fred, neither of her parents knew. It was easy to hide her personal life from parents who were too busy with their own problems to notice. Angelina's mum smiled.

"That's really nice, honey. I'm so upset that the boy had to see your father act so _ridiculously_," she said, anger quickly washing over her face.

"He's the one whose twin brother was killed, yes? That funeral we went to the other month. It was so sad. I can't imagine that kind of thing happening to me if…" Angelina's mother trailed off, caressing Angie's cheek.

"Well, as long as they've been treating you well, I don't care who you date. I'd like to meet this boy," she said, still the tone of maternal protectiveness in her voice. "Why haven't I been stopping to notice how beautiful you've become? I remember looking just like you, that figure," said Angelina's mother, reminiscing and laughing a little bit. She raised an eyebrow, waiting to see her daughter smile. Angelina laughed and hugged her mother again. Ms. Pulchrum decided it was necessary to take the rest of the day off and take Angelina home where they could sort through or throw out the remainder of Mr. Johnson's belongings. Angelina wanted to distract herself from thoughts of George. It had just been so much…she knew she'd freaked out because the last person who'd said such a meaningful thing to her was Fred. It had just felt awkward. She still felt horribly for leaving George confused. But she wanted to focus on her mum for the time being. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been able to just _talk_ with her mother.


	9. Chapter 9

Two days had passed and I hadn't seen or heard from Angelina. I stood in the doorway of Ginny's room, staring at the trunk Angelina had left there. It wasn't like she wasn't coming back for it, but I felt that way as I stood there staring at it, forgetting about the baby shower going on out in the yard. Mum had said I should invite Angelina, but I wasn't sure she wanted to talk to me. I figured she could use the time alone with her mother, though part of me wished I'd just invited her. I needed to see her. I wanted to make sure everything was okay, that I didn't screw something up. I kept managing to do that; mess up things between myself and other people. Perhaps I was becoming too impulsive…_you shouldn't've told her you love her…maybe it's too soon_, I thought, mentally chastising myself. Someone cleared their throat behind me, breaking my thoughts.

"What are you _doing_?" Ginny asked, stepping around me. She put her hands on her hips impatiently when I didn't answer.

"I think your room's _that way_," she said sarcastically. But then she noticed me staring at Angelina's trunk.

"Don't brood. It doesn't look good on you. She'll be back when she sorts things out with her mum. You're wanted downstairs, at the party, remember?" Ginny asked, finally getting my attention.

"What is _up_ with you?" she asked, genuinely concerned at my lack of response.

"My best friend is _dead_, Ginny. That's what's up with me," I said, sounding much harsher than I probably should have. Ginny's eyes watered and she started crying.

"Why are you being so mean, George? Ever since Fred died, you're just so…" she gritted her teeth and clutched her fists in frustration.

"He was _my_ brother too," she sobbed. I couldn't stand there and be a jerk to my baby sister. I softened up.

"I'm sorry, Gin," I said honestly. "I'm just upset still, okay?" I attempted to hug her and she pushed me angrily from the doorway, slamming it shut. I knew I'd deserved it, but it wasn't making things much easier. I went downstairs and into the kitchen. To my surprise, Bill was standing there, taking something out of the oven.

"George," he said happily, putting the pie on the stove and throwing off the oven mitts. He walked over to me and was about to hug me when he realized how glum I was looking.

"What's the matter?" he asked, pulling out a chair at the kitchen table, where I sat down and then Bill sat in front of me. I sighed and put my elbow on the table, my forehead in my hand. Bill rubbed my shoulder comfortingly. And then it just all came out in waves. I cried, not caring who saw.

"I miss him too, Georgie," said Bill. I felt him hugging me tightly.

"I'll always miss him—all of us will," he said, yet his voice was calm and I knew he was just trying to stay strong enough to calm me down.

"I-it's not just Fred," I said once I was able to speak. Bill sat back to have a look at me. I grabbed a random spoon on the table and started fiddling with it.

"I'm in love with Angelina. But I'm afraid I don't mean a thing to her," I said, a slight pang of anger filling me. Bill looked curiously at me.

"What'd you do?" he asked.

"I told her how I felt, and she just walked away. I dunno…I dunno if it's just me needing somebody ever since Fred's been gone. I don't think it is, though. And now I've gone and _bollixed_ it all up!" I said, hitting my head angrily.

"Oh, George," I heard him say soothingly, rubbing my shoulder.

"The first cut's the deepest. I promise you that. It'll stop hurting sooner than you think."

"It's _not_ a cut," I said, wiping my eyes.

"I've just frightened her somehow," I said, thinking that maybe that was it.

"You know, dad's told me all about what's been happening with the Johnsons. I think it was very brave of you to do what you did for Angelina, and I'm sure she still feels something for you. In a way, you saved her. Don't beat yourself up. Everyone is still dealing with Fred's death just as much as you are. I'm sure she'll come around soon enough. Don't worry," he said. For maybe the first time in my life, my brother kissed my forehead meaningfully. I felt much better then and wiped my eyes. I followed Bill's gaze towards the door where I saw Ron and Hermione standing, watching us. Someone was walking into the house and I waited to see who it was. Ron and Hermione parted slightly and then I saw Angelina and her mum. I stood up, wiping my eyes again.

"We brought a cake, Bill. I hope that's alright," said Angelina, smiling at my brother who nodded and took it from her to place it on the table before giving her a hug and thanking her for coming. Angelina's mom introduced herself to Bill and they went back outside to the party. Hermione and Ron smiled, greeting Angelina before walking back outside to the party, leaving the two of us alone. I was transfixed by how beautiful she was, as always. She was in this gorgeous aubergine dress that had a formfitting bottom, giving her already perfect figure an even more accentuated look.

"George, I wanted to talk to you about the other night," Angelina began. I took her hands and we sat down. She sighed, closing her eyes.

"It's just…it was awkward for me, when you said…"

"I meant it, Angelina," I said, no longer caring whether or not she felt the same way.

"I know, George," she said, smiling, which put me at ease because I knew everything would be okay.

"I just remembered Fred saying it to me. And when you did, it was just a strange…"

"Maybe I shouldn't've said it. I'm sorry," I said.

"No," said Angelina, holding my face in her hands. She kissed me.

"So, we're okay?" I asked hopefully once she'd pulled away.

"Mhmm," she said, nodding. I stood up, taking her with me and hugging her. I knew I'd found love and it was never going to leave me.


	10. Chapter 10

Angelina and I stood in the kitchen kissing for what felt like forever, until somebody walked in. Laughing cheerfully, Fleur put down an empty pitcher on the table. I pulled away from Angie reluctantly.

"Oh, your dress is beautiful. It's wonderful to see you again," Fleur beamed, reaching out to hug Angelina who let go of me to hug Fleur.

"Congratulations," said Angie as Fleur kissed both her cheeks in French fashion. Fleur patted her stomach which was just starting to show.

"Four months. I can't believe it. It feels like just yesterday Bill and I had the wedding." I left Fleur and Angelina to talk for a bit and made myself busy bringing the pie outside to the party where everyone else was…

When the baby shower was over and everybody left, Angelina and I were busy helping mum clean up.

"Are you going to be here a while, Angelina?" her mother asked, "I need to go to the store and pick up something to make us dinner this week," she said.

"It's okay, mum. I'm just going to stick around and help clean up," Angelina said. I paused in wiping the table to watch Angie and her mother hug. I could see Angie smile and I knew everything was going okay for her. I sighed, feeling much better about everything she'd gone through, everything I went through to make sure she was okay. The day had started off so glumly for me, but I was so happy then that it didn't matter. Ron and Hermione went into the family room to join Ginny and Harry for a cup of tea. Angelina sighed, shaking her hands dry at the sink. I came up behind her and put my arms around her waist, kissing her neck. I heard her laugh softly.

"That tickles," she said. I started to kiss it more passionately and she rolled her head back against my shoulder.

"You know, for a while there, I was afraid you weren't coming back," I said quietly into her ear. She grasped my hand, shaking her head. I found my hands prying the skirt of her dress, rubbing firmly between her legs. She moaned so quietly, and I knew I should've stopped, but I wanted to make her do it again. She gasped and grabbed my hand firmly, digging her nails into it and then I knew she wasn't playing.

"_George,_" she said through gritted teeth, but I knew she still enjoyed this. I laughed and let her go. She turned around and I found her mouth straight away, propping her up against the sink. We just started kissing madly and Angelina pushed my vest off, at which point we had to pool all our strength together to stop.

"Er, is it safe?" Harry asked, appearing slowly around the corner. Angelina stared at the floor, smiling shyly.

"'S alright," I said, pushing a hand through my hair. I didn't so much as blush but feel annoyed deep down that Harry had interrupted us. He was carrying a half-empty punch bowl. He brought it to the sink. I felt Angelina's hand on my lower back as Harry left the kitchen, leaving us in an awkward moment. I grabbed her hand and started upstairs.

"George," she laughed, tripping. I stopped, apologizing and picking her full up off the stairs. She continued to laugh as I made it to the top and started for my room, switching Angie over my shoulder. She stopped me by grabbing the doorframe.

"What are you doing?" I asked laughing. She made me put her down.

"I've got to get changed," she said.

"I haven't showered since yesterday morning," she said, smoothing out the creases I'd put in her dress.

"Why now? You're just going to get all hot and sweaty in a minute," I said seductively, grabbing her waist and starting for her lips again. She held a finger to mine, blocking them. I pouted and she laughed, but then her face was serious.

"Is everything okay?" I asked honestly. Angelina sighed.

"Mhmm, it is. I just didn't sleep much last night. Mum and I were up talking and going through what's left of my dad's things—"

"What's left?" I asked, confused.

Angelina nodded, "He took off and left, probably after your dad came over with us the other day. Mum came home and found him gone. He'd even cleared his bank accounts. I…"

"Is everything okay?" I asked again, leading her over to my bed and sitting her on it before I went back to close the door so that we could have some privacy. I knelt in front of her, taking both her hands. Angelina nodded honestly.

"You know, it might sound strange, but I'm relieved," she said, tracing the collar of my shirt.

"It's not weird at all. He made your life a living hell for so long. Now he's gone, and your mum's free, and I'm here," I said, gravitating towards her face as I spoke. I saw a laugh coming on and smiled, "And I'm going to make your life even more amazing," I finished, kissing her.

"You _are_ amazing, George," she said honestly.

"I'm really glad we found each other." Despite the circumstances under which we were brought together, I was happy that we had crossed paths like this. Angelina made me feel…in ways that words weren't capable of describing.

"I hope it's alright if I say it," I said, asking without asking by looking at Angie. She nodded.

"I love you," I grinned. She looked like she was going to cry, though there was a perfect smile on her face. And then she _did_ start to cry.

"What's wrong?" I asked fretfully. Angelina shook her head, smiling though her eyes were dripping. She fanned at her face with her hands and then threw her arms around my neck.

"No one's ever done as much for me as you have in this past week," she said, finally able to speak.

"I…I've never had anyone quite like this. I love you, too, George," she finished.

"I'm _so_ sorry about Fred," she said, a wave of genuine sadness in her voice. I shook my head, pulling her back to look at her. Though my eyes started to drip as well, I smiled.

"He's watching over us, Angie. He'll always be there," I said, having to fight not to sob in a way that would've caused me to sound incoherent. We kissed again and it was the best kiss I'd ever had in my life. Angelina descended to the floor where I was kneeling and completely fell into my embrace. When we kissed again, I couldn't help but feel myself lose control, as I tended to do at her touch. We started taking each other's clothes off, not caring whether buttons went flying or fabrics ripped. I literally tore Angelina's dress off. I thought it had looked so tight on her that I was surprised at how easily I managed to tear it in two. I had barely touched her, but when I ripped the dress, she moaned. I was relieved, thinking it would've made her angry, but it appeared to have quite the opposite effect; it had been a really nice dress, though. She tackled me to the floor. I don't know why we didn't just get in bed, it was right there. But there was no time for trivialities as she hastily unbuckled my belt and then unbuttoned my pants and pulled them down, bringing my shoes off my feet when she pulled them from around my ankles. I sat up and unclasped the bra she was wearing, but then she pushed me back on the floor. This side of her aroused me madly and I let her take total control. She started kissing and nipping at my neck and collarbone, biting rather hard, but in the heat of the moment, it didn't hurt me and I groaned pleasurably. After a bit of that, she placed her hands on my chest and rubbed against my hardness. I closed my eyes, lifting my waist up against her impatiently.

"Angelina," I whined. She shushed me seductively, lowering her head and kissing my chin. I felt her tongue on it for a second as she trailed up to my mouth and kissed it teasingly. I pulled at her waist and finally she lowered herself down on me. Bliss. I looked up at her dreamily as she started to rock against me, grabbing her waist tightly. Everything was glorious about her as I ran my hands up her stomach and reached for her perfect breasts. They were hot under my hands as I massaged them firmly. She tilted her chin towards the ceiling, moaning as quietly as she could, quickening her movements. I sat up on my hands and kissed her neck and chest all over, letting her thrust against me until she climaxed, sweat dripping between our bodies. The floor was cold compared to Angie and I grasped her back and ran my hands down the smooth skin.

"_Now_ I can shower," she said. I laughed, out of breath.


	11. Chapter 11

I let Angelina go for a shower first. She went into Ginny's room, where she'd left her trunk. I went to get washed up quickly before coming back to my room, where I found Angelina lying in my bed with her eyes closed. I approached slowly, looking down at her perfect face. Her flesh was so even and bright. I could have stayed up all night looking at her. I sat on my bed for a while, admiring her. _Look at that_, I thought, _this just can't be real… _As far as I knew, there wasn't a cell out of place in Angelina's body. The towel I had wrapped around my waist was beginning to painfully suppress my excitement. I sighed and tried to stop thinking about what she and I had just done; I wasn't going to wake her up for my own pleasure. She seemed not to have slept well since the entire debacle with her father, and I didn't want to be the reason she would be sleepy upon waking the following day. Instead, I got up and put on a pair of boxers and then turned off the light and lay down carefully beside her. The moonlight pouring in illuminated her enough that I could still see her. I held her hand carefully. She was the last thing I saw before I fell asleep…

When I woke up, the sun was shining on Angelina and me, as if it were some sort of omen. I smiled and sat up. The girl was still asleep. I decided to surprise her and threw on some pajama pants to go down to the kitchen. Ron and Hermione were already sitting at the table, sharing the paper like an elderly couple. I laughed, shaking my head at them. Ron looked up at me curiously, and then he just stared as I started to put some of the pancakes mum had made on a plate.

"W-was that a _laugh_, George?" Ron asked, seriously. Before I bothered to answer, I understood him to mean that I probably hadn't seemed this happy since Fred's death. I frowned to myself, reminiscing over him for a moment.

"Yeah. I was laughing at _you_ because your face is a real piece of work," I joked. I heard Hermione laugh.

"Hey, don't encourage him," said Ron, not in the mood to be picked on. I poured some syrup on the pancakes I was planning to give to Angelina and then grabbed a clean glass from the cupboard in which to put some orange juice. I started up to mine and Fred's room again in a hurry, nearly tripping and dropping everything. I made it back to the room where the door was ajar. I pushed it open and found Angelina just finishing pulling on a clean shirt. It was a particular shade of dark red that made me sanguine with lust for her.

"Going somewhere?" I asked, noting that she'd already put on her shoes.

"I thought you'd gone," she said, smiling and eying the plate and cup I was carrying towards her.

"Nope, still here. Are you hungry?" I asked, placing the plate and glass on the bureau before turning to her. She was looking at me with surprise.

"Did you make me breakfast, George Weasley?"

I laughed, "No. My mum made it. I just thought I'd take the liberty of bringing it to you," I said. Angelina approached me and touched my cheek, giving me a kiss.

"I never knew how sweet you were," she said, wiping my mouth shortly afterwards, as the gloss she'd put on her lips rubbed off on me.

"I love you," I said, pulling her close to me.

"Uhm, George," she started, rubbing my shoulders.

"Yeah?" I was almost afraid she'd give me some bad news. _Please don't, Angie! Everything's perfect right now_…

"Well, when I was talking to my mum the other day, she said she wanted to meet you."

"Huh? I met her last night. Lovely woman, might I add. I could see where you got your looks from. She's _wicked_ witty and spot on, too—"

"_Personally_," Angelina emphasized, her smile fading as she pulled my arms from around her waist a bit.

"What do you mean? We met. I was a gentleman. What else is there to do?" Angelina looked uncomfortable then. One thing she was very bad at was hiding how she felt. Even when she tried, I could just tell there was something off about her. She couldn't hide it from me.

"_What is it?_" I prodded, desperately wanting to know what was wrong.

"She wants us to all have dinner together—at my house," Angelina said hastily, "Friday night. At seven. Just you, me, and mum. I couldn't say no. She knows we're together now, so she really wants to get to know you."

"And why do you seem so worried? Are you afraid I'll say something wrong, or make a bad joke? Believe me, I know when to be serious—"

"It's not that," she said, pulling away and sitting on my bed with a sigh. I was genuinely concerned then. I threw myself on the floor in front of her.

"Well, what is it, then? I know something's bugging you," I said, taking her hands. She looked down at me and caressed my face, that sweet smell about her meeting my nose.

"Well, she doesn't even know that I went out with Fred for a while. In fact, neither my mum nor my dad ever knew anything about my love life. They just thought I was their perfect little, virgin, straight A, Quidditch champion daughter. I don't want her to get any wrong ideas, shatter her image of me. I mean, she wanted me to finish school, have an amazing career, and marry a bloke in some high position from the Ministry of Magic…"

"…And you're afraid I won't meet her expectations," I said, finishing Angelina's thoughts. She didn't have to say it, though the look on her face was denying it. I frowned for a little bit.

"You're old enough to make your own decisions now, Angie. Who cares what your mum thinks of me, or anyone you've ever dated, for that matter? You're an amazing, talented, beautiful witch. I think she's already quite proud of you."

Angelina smiled that shy smile that I knew meant she was hearing something that made her happy. I smiled up at her.

"And no one bloody cares what your father thought…he was the most ignorant _prick_ I've ever met. I knew from the moment I shook that man's hand that he'd have a problem with me. It just isn't fair; I never did anything to him. All I—" I cut myself short, feeling the rage about Angelina's dad wash over me. I could still see a slight bruise on her face from where he'd hit her. And though I never saw it happen, it made me feel this horrible hatred for him, something like I'd never felt for anyone in my entire life, other than for Voldemort or the piece of shit who'd killed my brother. I touched the bruise that was fading on Angelina's cheek. She looked worried again.

"It doesn't matter what he thought. I'll be _damned_ if I let that shit near you ever again," I said meaning every single word. Angelina smiled.

"It still just makes me sad," she said, and I saw her eyes tearing up, "that…he disowned me. That…" she had to stop speaking because she started crying. I just felt so much anger that I nearly screamed. I sat up on the bed and wrapped my arms around Angelina.

"No, no more tears. Especially not over a person who doesn't deserve them. He never deserved you. If I could have changed the past and all he's put you through, I would've." Angie turned to me, her eyes dripping uncontrollably.

"I just feel sad that I couldn't have had a _father_. Someone like yours. Someone who showed me that they loved me and cared about me. I feel like all I've ever had was my mum, and you and Fred, your whole family. Especially now," she said, almost unintelligible because she was crying. I rubbed her back soothingly. "When I was little and naïve, I thought that in some perfect world where everything played out the way it _should_ have done between my parents, I imagined that _they_ would be happy together and not have problems. I imagined that the day I decided to bring a guy home to meet them, they would both be there and be happy for me. They would both be happy for us. But I can't say so much anymore. Maybe if someone else had been my dad."

"You don't need anyone else, Angie," I said. "Love, I've never seen you like this. I hate the damage your dad's done to you. I remember the first time I ever saw you cry…" I trailed off, remembering the day of Fred's funeral; the day I brought her home when we'd run into each other at his grave and I sat across from her and saw that solitary tear drop into her tea. "You're so much stronger than you think. D'you know how many times I've seen you fall off your broom or take a bludger to the head? Never _once_ did I see you cry about something like that. But the scars that prick has left on your heart, the pain you've seen your mother go through because of him, it's made you this strong." Angelina wiped her eyes and smiled when I kissed her cheek, holding her as tightly as she needed me to.

"Why do you always know just what to say?" she asked. I laughed, knowing what I'd said really meant a lot to her.

"As for that virgin thing, why? Just because a girl isn't one doesn't mean she isn't an amazing person," I added. Angelina blushed.

"Well, I mean, it was just really instilled in me since childhood. I think most of it was my dad, too. You have _no_ idea how much I had to persuade him to let you take me out on that date. Ironically, it _did_ end in a way that would have caused him to lock me in my room until I turned thirty. My mum put in a good word for me, though. If it hadn't been for her, I think I would've had to sneak out." I laughed genuinely. Angelina would not stop blushing. Though her skin was richly chestnut, I could see the red flare in her cheeks.

"There's nothing to worry about," I said, once I stopped laughing, "we simply _won't_ tell your mum we've been sleeping together." Angelina laughed out loud…

That Friday night, I brought a bouquet of flowers that mum had arranged from the garden, which I handed politely to Ms. Pulchrum upon her opening the door to let Angelina and I in.

"These are _beautiful_, George," she said, taking them and admiring them. I felt rather pleased with myself, looking over at Angelina and smiling, nudging her lightly with my elbow. I wanted her to relax. I intended to act like a chivalrous knight, after all. Angelina's mum hugged me before we stepped inside and she closed the door.

"Angelina, I've some wonderful news for us," she started. I glanced around the familiar family room where she led us. A lot of stuff seemed to be missing from the last time I'd been there, as if someone had taken things away. I pictured Angelina's father packing his belongings and walking out the front door, which honestly made me happy. I gave Angelina's waist a squeeze while her mum's back was turned, eliciting a small surprised gasp from her. She curtly pushed my arm away from her before her mother had the chance to turn around and look at the two of us again. I held in the laugh that I almost let out.

"Let me get us some tea and then we can have a nice chit chat before we eat. Dinner will be ready in a bit," said Angelina's mum, walking out of the room and leaving Angie and I standing there. Angelina was staring up at me slightly nervously. I laughed.

"George, _don't_," she warned through gritted teeth.

"Don't what?" I asked sarcastically, pulling my arms around her again, this time feeling up her back side. She fought a smile, but kept pushing me off.

"I mean it," she said, not wanting her mum to catch us touching in any way. I pulled her tightly towards me and kissed her, making sure to do it sloppily, in a manner that wasn't suitable for public displays of affection. She gave in for just a few seconds before biting my lip.

"Ouch!" I said, pulling back and laughing.

"Think you nearly drew blood," I said, touching my lip, which was luckily clean. She backed away from me, smoothing out her skirt and taking a seat in the armchair furthest away from me. I pouted comically.

"Why do you want to sit all the way over there and leave me by my lonesome on this couch?" I asked, patting the spot beside me. She smiled at me wryly.

"Oh, _come on_, isn't it going to look odd if you're ten feet away from me?" Angelina continued to smooth out her clothes and hair, not wanting to look disheveled in any way. She knew I was right and came over to me quickly before her mum made it back into the room with tea. The set was ornate and looked rather expensive, owning up to the work her mother seemed to constantly be doing at the Ministry.  
"George, one sugar or two?" she asked, pouring us both a cup.

"Two, please," I said in my politest tone. I heard Angelina laugh. She knew how fake my tone was. Again, I kept my own laughter inside as she covered her mouth and cleared her throat. Angelina's mum gasped and we looked up at her.

"What happened to your ear?" she asked me, her eyes fixated on the holey scar where I'd pushed my hair back from.

"_Mum_," Angelina said, not wanting her mother to make me feel uncomfortable.

"No, no, it's okay, love," I said, placing my hand on Angelina's knee. I felt her tense up for a moment. I explained to her mum what had happened, and sure enough, we dove into casual conversation.

"The good news, Angelina," she said, taking a sip, "I've found you the _perfect_ job."

"Really, where?" Angelina asked curiously.

"I'm opening a toiletry shop in Diagon Alley." She started to pull a piece of parchment from her robes. It seemed to be a deed or plan of some sort. She handed it to Angelina who eyed it curiously.

"Madam Pulchrum's Perfumes. Mum, that's a catchy name!" Angelina smiled.

"Yes, there was another shop going out of business that sold me their property for a pretty fair price. It's almost directly across from…oh, what's the name of it…? Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, that joke shop that opened up pretty recently. Would that, by any chance, have anything to do with you, George?" she asked, smiling. I felt a lump form in my throat. It was strange because I hadn't felt nervous until that point. I felt Angelina rest her hand atop mine on the couch.

"Y-yes. Fred and I opened it up during our last semester at Hogwarts," I said, praying that I didn't sound as nostalgic as I felt. Angelina's mother nodded in this understanding way, her eyes the same dark shade as Angelina's yet full of a sparkling light that made them so mysterious.

"When did you two start dating, again?" Angelina's mum asked. Angie and I glanced at each other for a second and I felt myself fighting a blush.

"I ran into her weeks ago and we decided to go out," I said, not giving her the details about how Angelina had rejected me at first.

"Yeah, things just sort of progressed after that, and well, here I am," I grinned, grabbing Angelina's hand. She smiled shyly down at her feet. I heard her mother laugh a bit.

"We're in love," I blurted, not being completely able to control myself. I saw Angelina's eyes go wide as she turned to me slowly. For a second I thought she would have a heart attack, but her mother never stopped smiling and laughing.

"I remember being as young as you two, thinking I knew what that was—well, I won't spoil it for you," she said, cutting herself short before going off about how ephemeral she clearly presumed our feelings for one another to be.

"Mum, there's nothing funny about it," said Angelina somewhat defensively. I was utterly surprised about her stating this so fearlessly when she'd been _so _afraid of what her mother might think she'd been up to in her personal life.

"I meant no harm," said Angelina's mum, waving her hand in an almost careless way, but really to convince Angelina that she hadn't meant anything by what she'd said. Angie was gripping my hand and I noticed a slightly annoyed look on her face, like she was impatient about something.

"I…" she started, but then stopped quickly. I rubbed the small of her back casually in an attempt to calm her down before she said something she might later regret.

"So you'll be opening a store of your own," I said, moving the conversation onwards.

"Yes, yes! It's going to be lovely. I already have the plans all set up and…" as Angie's mum prattled on about the store, I hoped the annoyed look would leave Angie's face. Eventually it did. It was mostly Angelina's mum and I conversing over dinner. I thought I'd made a pretty good impression as her mother seemed to enjoy my company greatly. When we'd finished dessert, Angelina's mum explained to her that she wanted to speak to her about how the store would work out and what she needed help sorting out, at which point she subtly dismissed me, thanking me for a lovely evening and wishing me a good night. I stood up and Angelina walked with me to the door, her mum not far behind us. I turned around at the door and gave Angelina a quick kiss on the lips, simple and chaste. I didn't want her to get all worked up again about her mother seeing me do this. She said goodnight to me, wrapping her arms around me. We must've stood a moment longer than Angelina's mother thought was necessary, as after about fifteen seconds, she sort of intercepted us to give me a hug and tell me goodnight again.

"Goodbye. That was a lovely dinner. Thank you," I said to her before she closed the door. I saw Angelina past her mum, looking at me longingly. I turned around, satisfied with myself. I wondered if Angelina's mum had known that we slept in the same bed plenty of times before, that we'd kissed and held hands loads of times. There was something strict that I had been able to detect about her mother's countenance the entire time we were talking, but if she had only known the things I'd done to Angelina when no one else was around…I pulled off my tie, starting to feel too warm thinking about it. I was about to disapparate back to the Burrow when an idea popped into my head. I walked around slightly to the side of Angelina's house where I knew her bedroom window was. I sat in the grass and stared up at it, waiting for the light to go on, a sign that she was there getting ready for bed. I must have waited about an hour. I got bored and laid on my back, pulling the petals off of dandelions while I waited. Eventually, Angelina's light popped on and I scrambled to my feet, leaving my shoes off where I had put them in the grass. I drew my wand and stepped towards the trellis. Instead of climbing it, I pointed my wand at my feet and charmed myself to float upwards, using the trellis as leverage as not to float off into the distance. Angelina's window was slightly open, letting in the summer night, and me as I scrambled in through the window, losing the charm and crashing with a loud _thud_ to the floor. Angelina turned around, half undressed, surprised to see me.

"Angie, what's that noise?" her mother called. Angelina ran to the door and locked it.

"Dropped something," she called back, waiting a few seconds to make sure her mother wasn't coming.

"George, what're you doing?" she whispered fiercely.

"I think what's more important is what_ you're _doing," I said seductively, eying the bra that was now visible on her near topless body.

"You need to go. You can't be caught in my room," she said, staring at the door as I made my way towards her."

"George."

"Shh, I've got it, baby," I assured, pointing my wand at her door and hexing the walls to create a soundproof barrier.

"She won't even know," I said, putting my wand on the night stand and making my way back to Angelina, wrapping my arms around her. She continued to pull away from me slightly.

"Angie, seriously? You thought I was just going to go home and sleep all by myself tonight?" I asked seductively. I knew Angelina was growing aroused as I touched her, kissing at her neck, though she tried to hide it by acting like she was still convinced her mother would be able to hear us and interrupt. I stepped forth pushing Angelina on her bed and then pulling her skirt clear off.

"Don't rip that one," she said, pointing at me dangerously. I only laughed and watched her as I unbuttoned my vest and threw it on the floor, crawling out of my pants before crawling up onto Angelina…


	12. Chapter 12

When Angelina and I finished, I tried to cuddle with her but she got up almost straight away. I whined at her and pouted as she reached for a towel from her bureau.

"Where you going?" I asked, wiping sweat from my brow.

"I was going to go get ready for bed," she said quietly. I laughed loudly.

"I promise you; your mum didn't hear a thing," I said, standing up, still fully naked. Angelina smiled at me for a bit before opening her door to look outside, checking that her mother was in bed already. I rubbed up on her hips and she ducked back into the room, giggling.

"Let me go make sure she's asleep," said Angelina, closing the door lightly. I waited impatiently for a bit, rocking back and forth on my heels. Angelina came back and grabbed my arm, rushing me down the hall to the bathroom where we showered together. When went back to her room, surprisingly never getting caught, she rested her head against my chest sleepily. We were talking about random things and eventually Angelina stopped talking. I lay down and fell asleep…

"George, _George_," someone was shaking me.

"Huh?" Angelina pushed me clear off her bed and told me to hide.

"Just a minute, mum!" Angelina called, the doorknob turning but it was locked, preventing Angelina's mum from getting into the room. I stood up, rubbing my eyes. It was day time. I opened Angelina's closet and clambered inside, closing the door. And then the door to Angelina's bedroom opened and I knew her mother stepped in.

"Why was the door locked?"

"…I was asleep. Must've done it by accident in the middle of the night," Angelina lied, yawning.

"Oh, well, I'm getting ready to go off to work. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I had been knocking for a while, Angelina."

"_Sorry, mum_," said Angie impatiently.

"Anyway, I'm going to start working part time at the Ministry, then the other half of the time you can help me start up the shop."

"Alright." I heard a moment of silence before the door closed and Angelina opened her closet, where I almost fell out. I was somewhat confused, still waking. I squinted my eyes in the sunlight.

"Th-that was close," I said, wrapping my arms around her.

"Yeah," said Angelina. Her hair was really curly and disheveled, but I thought she looked even prettier like that when she woke up. I leant down and kissed her forehead. We stood there for a moment. I rocked slowly, soothingly, back and forth.

"Oh, and Angie—"

Ms. Pulchrum opened the door again and found us standing there. I felt a pang of fear as she stopped and stared.

"Mum," Angelina gasped, pulling back from me. I grabbed a pillow and held it in front of my naked waist. I laughed nervously as Angelina's mum's mouth dropped before she turned quickly and walked back out of the room. Angelina ran to the door and opened it, following her mother down the hall. I heard some quick chattering, though I tried not to listen.

"…talk about it later, sweety. I'm late!" Angelina's mum said before I heard her rushing down the stairs and out the front door. When Angelina came back to her room, she looked flustered and red.

"Well, that was awkward," I said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Mmm," said Angie, sighing. I sat beside her.

"Want to get breakfast?" I asked, changing the subject. Angelina was sitting there, still looking embarrassed.

"Sure. Why not?" she said nodding and smiling at me.

"I've been completely ignoring the shop," I said, grabbing my head in a panic. There had been so much going on with Angelina that I'd neglected to even open the store for a couple of days. I felt Angelina's hands on my shoulders, and then she got behind me, massaging my shoulders, which really made me calm down a little bit.

"Hmm," I sighed, closing my eyes, "That's nice, Ang," I said. She kissed the nape of my neck and I had completely forgotten why I had been upset. She started to massage my ribs firmly, working her way down my body. I couldn't take it anymore and decided to turn around. I tackled her to the bed where half the covers had already fallen off due to previous activities. Angelina laughed when I started to pull off her t-shirt. It occurred to me that we were never able to keep our hands off of one another for long.

Once I'd showered again and gotten dressed, Angelina and I went into Diagon Alley and got a late breakfast—pretty much lunch—before we went back to mine and Fred's store. I immediately switched the closed sign to open right after I got inside. Angelina walked over to the counter and sat upon it, grinning at me as I approached.

"Hmm," I sighed, eying her legs which were exposed from just a bit above the knees. I stopped about a foot away from her and she cocked her head to the side, eying me cautiously.

"What's on your mind, mister?" she asked, throwing her legs out on either side of my waist and playfully pulling me towards her. I grabbed the counter before I ended up knocking her off it. She pushed her hands through my hair and I closed my eyes for a second, feeling myself beginning to yearn for her again the second time that day.

"I've been thinking about it, since last night," I said, pausing to kiss her plump lips.

"Thinking about what?" I knew I looked nervous. I was almost afraid she'd reject the idea.

"Well, now that I _really_ think of it, I feel I shouldn't say anything. I mean, you've just managed to patch things up at home and I don't want to take you away from the time you should spend with your mum—"

"George, what is it?" Angelina asked, almost impatiently.

"Will you move in with me?" I blurted, already feeling the hopeful expression on my face.

"It's just, we keep going back and forth between the Burrow and my flat, and now your place. I think we should just sort of detach from family life a little bit. I don't like feeling as if I have to sneak around with you just so no one will run in on us," I explained, feeling the blush in my cheeks as I recalled the fact that Angelina's mother had seen me naked just a few hours previously. I watched Angelina's face hopefully, wondering if I was just being selfish about asking her to move in with me. She looked around, pondering it.

"Please?" I asked, "I promise I'm not a pain to live with. I keep clean around the house, I'll even cook," I said. Angelina laughed at that last idea.

"What's so funny?" I asked sarcastically. Angelina shook her head, stopping herself from giggling.

"Angelina, I just want to spend as much time with you as possible," I said honestly.

"I've been shirking my store duties and I don't want to cause business to go down. I know Fred would be turning over in his grave if that happened. And you'll be right across the way at your mum's shop, once it starts up. Just think how quickly you'd be ready in the morning. All you'd have to do is take a few steps out that door," I explained.

"Wait, George, what made you think I was going to say no?" Angelina asked, smiling at me. I felt a sense of relief. The bell above the door tolled and I turned around slightly to see Harry, Ginny, and Ron walking in. Angelina unwound her legs from my waist and hopped down off the counter.

"Hey. How'd you guys know I'd be here?" I asked.

"The closed sign said open," said Ron plainly, walking over to something and aiming to pick it up, but then remembering what happened the last time he tampered with a product and retracted his hand.

"Plus you didn't come home last night. Mum was wondering if you were here," Ron added. Angelina walked over to Ginny and they started talking about something, disappearing somewhere. I rolled my eyes.

"Tell mum I'm alive and well," I said, slightly bothered by her tendency to over-worry. But I couldn't have blamed her much, not after what happened to Fred.


	13. Chapter 13

Angelina and I joined everyone back at the Burrow for dinner. During dessert, my mum brought over a letter for Angelina, saying her mum had sent it earlier. I watched Angelina's face tense up a bit as she opened it, excusing herself from the table. I wasn't sure why, but I felt nervous then. I decided it was best not to follow her anyway, so she could read it by herself. Anything she wanted to tell me, she'd tell me later. She wasn't back to the table by the time everyone finished. I went up to my room where I found her waiting on my bed, looking like she was deep in thought.

"Is everything okay? You didn't finish your dessert," I said, closing the door. Angelina sighed, running her hand over her trunk which she'd brought into my room.

"Are you going home?" I asked, hoping she wasn't. She smiled and stood up.

"No. Well, yes. I just need to talk to my mum. I've been trying to figure out how to tell her I'm moving out."

"Well, that shouldn't be hard, unless you don't really want to," I said, sitting beside her.

"Of course I do, George! I just feel like I wouldn't want to leave her all alone in our big house…" I took her hand.

"Well, if you think about it, she's been alone for quite some time, yeah? You said it yourself; your dad was never good to either of you. I think it'd be a breath of fresh air for her to be able to take over and not have to worry about him, and you'll be safe with me," I said, holding her hand tighter. Angelina looked up at me.

"And we'll go over and visit as much as you want, and spend the night—if that's okay with your mum, of course." Angelina smiled. I was glad to have seen that she was no longer tense.

"I'm just a bit apprehensive about what she'll have to say about this morning," Angelina added, her eyebrows rising. I blushed and laughed a bit.

"You want me to go with you?" I asked. Angelina shook her head and stood up.

"Okay. Are you going to stay over there tonight?" I asked, hoping I wouldn't be sleeping alone. Angelina shook her head. She leant up on her toes to give me a kiss and I wrapped my arms around her for a moment before she pulled away from me and disapparated…

Angelina had always loved her mum's cooking, which she hadn't had very much of since she was a child, before she went to Hogwarts. When she did live at home, she'd probably been cooking for herself ever since she was thirteen. It seemed that over the years she'd spent less and less time with her mum (and dad) that she'd forgotten how great of a cook her mother was. Though she was already full from Molly's amazing cooking, she couldn't resist eating some of the richly seasoned baked potatoes her mother put on a plate and pushed in front of her at the kitchen table. They ate and Angelina didn't say a thing. Her mother was the first to break the silence.

"So, what did you do today? Spend time with George?" she asked. Angelina sighed nervously.

"Okay, mum, I'm really sorry you had to walk in on that. I mean, I know it must've been awful—" Angelina's mother waved a hand somewhat carelessly, and then she smiled but her eyes began watering up.

"I'll tell George he's not to sneak in again—I_ promise_, mum," Angelina explained desperately.

"No. It's not so much that which bothers me, Angel…I just can't believe how much you're not my little baby anymore…when I saw that boy kiss you, it was like…like my little girl wasn't there anymore," said Angelina's mother, grabbing a napkin and dabbing her eyes, but laughing nonetheless.

"On the subject, as your mother, I need to be concerned—and I am. Tell me you're at least being safe," she said, closing her eyes tensely, waiting for Angelina's answer. Angelina knew her mother's reasoning for being so strict; she'd had Angelina when she barely graduated school. She was lucky enough to come from a family that was able to help take care of her, and Angelina's dad stuck around, although it occurred to Angelina then that it probably wasn't for the best. He had been a young father, wasn't ready for the responsibility to the extent that he'd done a terrible job, probably adding to the difficulty with which he _attempted _to help raise her, only to end up abandoning his family in the end.

"I'm taking a potion," Angelina admitted somewhat uncomfortably. Her mother's eyes opened and relief washed over her face. She reached across the table and grasped Angelina's hands.

"I love you, remember? Never forget that, baby," she said, kissing Angelina's hands. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like crying.

"As long as that boy is good to you, then I'm fine," she added.

"Does that boy love you, Angel?" Angelina's mother asked seriously.

Angelina laughed before responding, "Mum, he _does_ have a name, you know. It's George, and yes, he does."

"How do you know it?" Her mum asked just as seriously, "I know I haven't talked to you about some things as much as I think I should have over the years, but Angel, sex isn't the same thing as _love_—"

"Mum—"

"Men don't always think about it in the same way that most of us women do, baby."

"Mum, I'm not five years old anymore. You said so yourself; I'm not a little baby anymore. I know how George feels, and he feels the same way that I do," Angelina said firmly, starting to feel a bit defensive. She calmed down before speaking again.

"Mum, you should've seen him when he was here, talking to dad. He wasn't going to let anything happen to me. He's been there for me ever since his brother died, and you know I've been friends with the two of them for years. And I've been there for George just the same. It's almost like we were supposed to find each other. I don't feel more loved around _anyone_ the way I feel around him. George practically worships me, mommy. He would walk through fire for me." The smile on her mother's face was growing bigger and bigger. Angelina could've talked about George all night. She then took a big breath before moving on to tell her mother even more.

"And that's why I'm moving in with him. He used to share the flat above his store with Fred. He's just asked me today to stay with him now, officially. I know you wouldn't mind; I _have_ been spending so much time with him and at the Burrow while you and dad were at work this summer. Please say you don't mind," Angelina pleaded, feeling the worry fill her eyes. Her mother's smile faded an iota but then she kept it where it was on her face.

"You know, Angel, living with someone you love is much different than seeing them every day. Suppose he's really sloppy and it bothers you? Your room is neater than a file cabinet." Angelina laughed.

"He's not. I'll be fine. So you're okay with it?" Angelina breathed a sigh of relief when her mother nodded.

2 Months Later

Ms. Pulchrum's store was going well, taking up Angelina's day as she worked with her mum, Hermione and Ginny helping out part time at her shop and part time at mine and Fred's. I found myself starting to really enjoy life again, picking up where Fred and I left off with some new ideas for the store. Ron was actually able to help me produce some new products and business was going just as well as ever. I was saving up, too to get a real place, eventually. I didn't quite feel like Angelina had enough space in my room, not that she ever complained when I realized that she could fit less than half of her wardrobe in my closet, and neither of us thought we were really ready to box up and stow away all of Fred's things from his room. As happy as we were, there was still so much sorrow upon opening his bedroom door, finding things last touched just the way they'd been left by Fred's own hands. Some nights, Angelina and I would stand in the doorway and just stare, trying to remember all of the good times and the laughs Fred had given us. It was still hard to think of him as gone. I knew it was never going to feel quite right, but it was getting better day by day, just a tiny bit. I knew that if I didn't have Angelina, it wouldn't've been nearly as easy. She kept me whole whenever I felt like I would fall apart again. I knew it was her love keeping me sane or I would've long since lost my mind and my will to live. I was thinking all of this as I wandered a Muggle street in New York City in search of the right shop to purchase a ring. I had already seen several in different places, having to take my lunch breaks at random hours so Angelina wouldn't have caught on and tried to figure out where I was going. I must've already seen fifty rings, but none of them felt right for my Angelina. It had to be angelic, august, something as regal as she. I had yet to find it, but as I pulled open the door of a jewelry store I'd never been in before, I had a good feeling.


	14. Chapter 14

I stared at the myriad of diamonds under the glass case, picturing each one on Angelina's finger, skipping on when a bunch of them just didn't feel right.

"What's her personality like?" someone asked me, appearing at my side. I looked up and a saleswoman smiled at me.

"Oh, er, my girlfriend?" I asked.

"No, your dog. Of course, your lucky lady! I'm just kidding with you," she laughed. I laughed back, preoccupied with what each ring might look like on Angelina's finger.

"Well, she's beautiful, for one thing, on the inside, not just the out…she's somewhat dark and mysterious, which is what I love about her the most. Her eyes are always sparkling and she's strong willed, determined, smart, incredibly skilled at athletics, a diamond in the rough…" the saleslady looked like she was about to faint as she stared up at me, leaning against the counter.

"Is she English, too?" she asked, admiring my accent. I nodded.

"Tell me more," she said, "it looks like you're not too interested in anything over here," she added, grabbing me by the arm and leading me deeper into the store.

"How'd you know I was looking for an engagement ring?" I asked.

"Oh, sir, it's just about the only thing tall, handsome glasses of water such as yourself ever come in here for." She was laughing as she stopped at a particular case filled with diamond rings, many of them also inlaid with gems.

"Now these," the saleswoman began, opening the case with a key, "are very special. They have gems in them as well, symbolic of birth dates. What month was she born in? Perhaps she'd like something…" I trailed off as something dead in the center of the case caught my eye. I reached out and touched the ring.

"Oh! This one is one of our rarest, incredibly beautiful. You said your lady can be mysterious and dark; then I would say this is a great choice…"

She took the ring out that I was staring at and let me hold it.

"Black opal," she said, her voice drowning in and out as I stared at the ring, envisioning it perfectly on my Angelina's finger. I didn't care how much it would cost; it was the one! I had to get it. I'd literally gone to at least ten other stores and hadn't come across something I thought would be as perfect for her as that diamond ring with such a mysterious looking gem set in it. The band was white gold and perfect. I just couldn't stop staring at it.

"This is the one. I can feel it," I said. The saleswoman smiled warmly, placing her hand over her heart. She seemed to swoon every time I spoke.

"This woman is very lucky and I'm honestly jealous. Something tells me you're not only a cute redhead, but an absolute gentleman as well." I could have sworn she'd try and kiss me or something as she glanced up at me dreamily. I just smiled in return.

"She's going to love it. Thank you for bringing me over here," I said. When she led me over to the counter to ring me up, I nearly had a heart attack at the price. It was going to cost almost half of what I'd been saving up, but at that point I didn't care. It was the _one_ ring I could really see myself placing on Angelina's finger…I pondered it a bit and wondered if it would be less expensive to just conjure up an exact replica of the ring. But I bought it, anyway. I wasn't going to waste another week running from store to store trying to find the right ring again. Once the saleswoman had boxed it up for me, wishing me the best of luck, I left the store and turned a corner casually before disapparating. I went straight to the flat. I opened the bag to look at the red velvet box that protected the ring. I looked around, wondering where would be the best place to hide it so that Angelina wouldn't accidentally happen upon it…Fred's door was suddenly so inviting, closed as it was. It seemed to be beckoning me forth and I walked right up to it and turned the knob. I stood in the doorway, looking around. Approaching the bureau, I pulled a drawer open, which was almost empty except for a few copies of _The Daily Prophet_ in which the store had been mentioned. I smiled, remembering Fred and I jumping for joy when we got an article with good ratings about our store. We'd each kept a copy, hoping that some day, when we were old and gray men, we would sit in rocking chairs and open the yellowing pages to find a picture of ourselves as young men at the grand opening of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I shook my head, remembering why I was in Fred's room.

"Do you think she'll like it, Freddie?" I asked quietly, forgetting once again that he wasn't there to answer me. But I smiled and tucked the small box into the back corner of the drawer and closed it. I walked out of Fred's room and closed the door securely, somebody knocking impatiently at the flat door.

"Coming!" I rushed over and pulled the door open to find my little brother, Ron, glaring in at me.

"Bloody hell, where've you been? You've been taking two-hour lunch breaks lately, I swear."

"Got a broomstick up your butt, have you? Relax, I'm back!"

Ron rolled his eyes.

"And Angelina's not going to be happy you missed your lunch date with her, yet _again_. She just left," Ron informed me as we both started down the steps. I slapped my hand to my forehead, having totally forgotten about our date, the one I kept rescheduling because I couldn't let Angelina discover that I'd been looking for an engagement ring. She was going to be angry later; I knew it.

Ron and Harry were helping me close up shop at the end of the day when Angelina walked into the store. She walked past me like she didn't even see me, and I knew she was upset. I sighed and told Harry and Ron that they'd done enough for the day and they could go home. I locked up and went upstairs to the flat, where the door was already open. I could hear Angelina in the kitchen, putting the kettle on the stove.

"How was your day?" I asked casually, closing the door. Angie didn't answer me, so I walked into the kitchen where she stood with her back to me, arms crossed. I walked over and wrapped my arms around her, from which she pulled away and huffed, walking out of the kitchen. I closed my eyes for a moment in frustration. If only she'd known why I'd been taking such long lunch breaks. But it wasn't the right time to propose. It had to feel like the right moment, and it just didn't feel like the right moment then.

"Angie, can we talk?" I asked, walking into my room where I found her sitting in the chair beside the bed, taking her shoes off and putting her hair up into a bun on top of her head. She didn't say anything to me.

"Okay, I'm _sorry_," I pleaded.

"But I didn't forget—"

"Forget it. Just forget about it, George. We're never going to have lunch together ever again. I've thoroughly understood that now," she said, somewhat sardonically. She'd never been this angry with me and it just felt horrible.

"What do you mean you didn't forget? You _clearly_ forgot because you weren't even here when I came looking," she said, pulling her sweater off hastily and hanging it in the closet.

"…It might seem like I've been forgetting, but I've really been busy—"

"With _what_? I thought you said that Harry and Ron have been very helpful to have around. They're always busy doing a million things downstairs, but you're going to stand there and tell me that you're _busy_?" she crossed her arms again. I sighed and stepped closer to her.

"What have you been doing that's _so_ important, George? We used to get lunch together _every day_, up until this past week…is there something you're not telling me?" she asked, her eyes starting to water.

"What do you mean, Angie? There's nothing nearly as important to me as you." My jaw dropped a bit at what I hoped she wasn't thinking. I tried to hug her and she pulled away from me.

"I'm not in a good mood. I can't talk to you right now…I need a shower," she said, walking around me and towards the bathroom where she closed the door curtly. The kettle started screaming in the kitchen and I went and turned it off. I decided that maybe I could do something to put Angie in a better mood, so I made myself busy cooking dinner. When I was halfway finished, she came into the kitchen where I was standing at the stove with a skillet of salmon. Angelina sat up on the countertop behind me. I finished the fish and turned it off.

"George, what's going on? What's going on with you, lately? You've been sort of…off all week. And you keep going out and not telling me where, and you don't want me to go with you. Just tell me what's going on. I don't like being lied to," Angelina said, her eyes sparkling at me somewhat teary. I stopped what I was doing and walked over to where she was at the counter, placing my hands on her knees.

"I know I've been sort of weird, but I promise—there's nothing weird going on. There's just some things…I need to take care of and I can't tell you why, at least not yet. Does that make sense?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't still be thinking the worst.

"I know when you're lying, George," she said, a tear rolling out of her eye.

"No, no, Angie, it's not a lie…well, it sort of is, but I'm not doing anything horrible when I'm not around. I hope you know that. What were you thinking?" I asked desperately.

"Th-there's not someone else, is there? Because if so—"

"What? How can you say that?" I was literally surprised at her. A few tears dripped out of her eyes. I grabbed the dishtowel and wiped them off.

"Baby, that's not at _all_ what's going on! I promise. Am I lying to you right now?" I asked. Angelina eyed me for a few moments before shaking her head. I smiled.

"Good," I said, kissing her. She pushed her hand through my hair, which felt good. But then she pulled away from me.

"Then, tell me where you've been going and why you keep missing our lunch dates," she said, hopping down off the counter and gazing up at me.

"I can't tell you that," I said, holding her in my arms. She didn't seem too satisfied with my answer as she began to pull my arms from around her waist.

"But, Angie, it's all alright. I'll tell you soon, but now is just not a good time," I pleaded. She sighed.

"Is that dinner? I'm starving."


	15. Chapter 15

When we sat eating dinner at the table, Angelina would barely look at me.

"I love you," I said, hoping she'd stop being pissed off at me. I saw her smile for a second.

"I really do, Angelina," I said. She sighed and looked up at me for a second.

"Good to know."

"Can you please not be angry? I know it's been a busy week and I'm _sorry_—"

"It's _okay_, _George_," she said with a bit of exasperation. I knew it really wasn't; we never kept things from each other. That's just how we were. I tried to make myself feel better by imagining how ridiculous she'd feel when she realized that all I'd been doing was trying to find the perfect engagement ring for her. I looked at the napkin holder in the middle of the table from which Angelina picked up the last napkin. I took my wand out of my pocket and tapped it at the holder, which transformed into a large bouquet of hydrangeas. Angelina looked up, having finished her plate, and I watched her beautiful face light up upon seeing the flowers.

"Did you just do that?" she asked, picking one up to smell it.

"I don't like it when you're angry with me," I said, pouting somewhat. Angelina couldn't fight the urge to smile at me.

"Okay, okay," she said, "I forgive you."

I smiled genuinely.

"Great, now where's my hug and kiss?" I asked, standing and taking our plates to the sink. Angelina laughed, breaking the stem off one of the flowers and tucking it into her hair. She finished her glass of water and wiped her mouth again before standing up to meet me at the sink where I'd leant, watching her contentedly. She grinned and stood up on her toes to give me a kiss, wrapping her arms around my neck. She yawned after she kissed me, her eyes looking rather tired.

"Are you okay?" I asked, rubbing her back gently.

"I need some sleep. It's been super busy over at mum's store, especially when she's not there. We're really making a profit, though," she said. I inhaled and she smelled like that familiar vanilla, chamomile, honey? I never quite figured out what it was. I closed my eyes, just inhaling her dazedly. Angelina laughed.

"I've still not figured out that pretty smell," I admitted, keeping my eyes closed and gripping her tighter.

"It's one of my mum's specialties. I've yet to get the hang of concocting it. The scent changes repeatedly, so it's never quite the same each time you smell it," she said, her voice full of drowsiness. I opened my eyes and looked down at her to find her eyes closed.

"Are you alright?" I asked again, kissing her forehead.

"I think I just need to get some sleep," she said, blinking up at me.

"But we haven't made up yet," I said, smiling seductively. Angie laughed sleepily.

"I think I'm going to go brush my teeth and get to bed. Sorry, honey," she said, rubbing my chest lightly before walking out of the kitchen. She did seem tired so I decided not to pester her. I washed the dishes by hand and put them all away, wrapping up and refrigerating everything that was left of our dinner for tomorrow. When I walked into my room, Angie was already asleep in my bed, the lamp still on dimly lighting the room. I walked over quietly and lay beside her gently. She was so beautiful, as always. I could've laid there and watched her sleep for eternity. I started trying to think about what I'd say to her when I proposed, pulling a piece of parchment off the nightstand and aiming my wand at it where the words that I was thinking in my head began to appear. I sighed, crumpling up and throwing away what I'd thought of. It just wasn't good enough. I stared at Angelina for a bit longer before getting up to get myself ready for bed. She was still sound asleep when I came back to join her. I kissed her forehead gently and wrapped my arms around her so her head rested on my chest before I went to sleep.

Someone was shoving me carefully. I looked up into Angelina's face.

"Why haven't you gotten up yet?" she asked.

"Time to get up, love," she said, before rushing out of my room into the bathroom for a shower. I stood tiredly at the sink brushing my teeth. I rinsed my mouth and when I looked up, I could see Angelina behind me through the mirror as she stepped out. She was always most beautiful when naked, I thought, before she pulled a towel around herself in a hurry, walking out of the bathroom. I rushed out after her and caught her in my arms. I heard her laugh when I started to unwrap the towel. She grabbed my hands firmly.

"_Geo_—I'm gonna be late! There's a special shipment of ingredients mum needs that I have to be at the store in order sign off for in ten minutes," she explained.

"I can be quick," I said. I grabbed her breasts and she struggled away from me.

"George, not now. I'm feeling sore anyway. We'll have plenty of time later!" she said, managing to wiggle out of my grasp. She ran into my room and started getting dressed. She must've done so in less than three minutes before she rushed out of the door to get across the street to her mum's store. I sighed, realizing how busy we'd both been since I reopened the store and Angelina had a job working her mother's. It seemed like we'd had less and less time to spend together and really focus on things other than work. I wondered if I'd ever get a chance to propose. At least it was a Friday.

"Is she going to say yes?" I asked, noting that I'd asked it aloud. No one answered and I walked back into the bathroom to wash my face and get dressed for the day. The shop wasn't going to run itself…

It was around eleven when I saw Ginny walking into the store. She looked a bit panicked and I rushed over to meet her.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Actually, it's Angie," said Ginny, looking worried. I grabbed my little sister's shoulders.

"What? Where is she? Is she okay?" my heart started to beat too quickly.

"I mean, she's alright now, but she fell—just right out of the blue. She's okay though. Paramedic is checking her out over at the store," said Ginny calmly. I started for the door and Ginny grabbed my arm.

"Angelina didn't want to worry you, though. She doesn't even know I'm here. Hermione's over there with her now."

"Then I'll just come over really quickly to check on her," I said, starting for the door again.

"Is something wrong with Angie? She looked sort of ill when she came in this morning," Ginny informed as we walked just a little ways down the street before stopping in front of Madam Pulchrum's Perfume.

"I dunno. She was tired last night," I said. I walked into the store with Ginny and Angelina was standing behind the counter, writing something down and looking very focused on what she was doing. I walked around the counter and placed my arm around her waist. She looked up surprised to see me there. I found myself staring at the plaster on her forehead and began to feel a bit panicky.

"You didn't have to come all the way over here. I'm fine," she urged, glancing at Ginny who went back to restocking some of the shelves with lotions.

"Ginny came over and told me you fell. You don't look so good either, Angelina," I said, looking at her face which seemed a bit washed out.

"I'm fine. I just forgot to eat breakfast," she explained, finishing jotting something down.

"I was in a hurry this morning," she added, but she didn't sound so convincing. I thought she still sounded exhausted.

"It _was_ a pretty nasty fall," Hermione added, stepping towards the front of the counter. Angelina shook her head nonchalantly.

"It was more like you passed out, wouldn't you say, Angie?" Hermione asked, her tone concerned.

"She refused to be taken to the doctor," Hermione explained to me. Angelina shook her head, pausing in filling out an inventory form.

"Guys! I'm _fine_. I nearly missed the shipment this morning and that had me worried. I'm just a bit low on energy, alright? Everything's fine," she urged, her eyes widening with impatience. Hermione left us to talk. I made Angelina face me so I could take a good look at her. I pressed my hand to her forehead and she pulled it off, laughing lightly.

"Get back to your store, honey. I'm fine," she said.

I shook my head, "You don't look so well, Angie. I can't work knowing something like that happened. You're lucky Ginny and Hermione were here. Suppose you'd passed out and no one came around?"

"Stop worrying," she said, placing her hands on my shoulders. I couldn't stop worrying. She was probably sick and denying it.

"I want you to come home and lie down," I said quietly, so neither my sister nor Hermione would start to get as worried about Angie as I was.

"Please," I begged. "There I can at least keep an eye on you. I'm really worried, Angie," I said. She stared up at me and shook her head.

"Please, I'm _okay_. Besides, my mum will be in for the afternoon and I'll ask her if I can take the rest of the day off. It'll be _fine_, George."

I sighed. Angelina leant up on her toes and kissed me.

"Go on," she urged, pushing me back. I stood there for a moment, listening to Angelina muttering products under her breath and jotting things down. She glanced over at me when I was still looking at her and smiled, cocking her head to the side.

"I'm not alone here, right? I doubt anything will happen again, and if it does, Hermione and Ginny will be right here. So don't worry."

Reluctantly I walked out of the store and back over to my own, which was crowded with customers.

I couldn't stop thinking about Angelina all day. When I took my break around twelve-thirty, she walked into the store just as I was about to walk out. She looked about the same as she had earlier. We started upstairs to the flat and I started making lunch. Angelina was leaning against the counter with her eyes pinched shut, rubbing her temples.

"Will you please lie down?" I asked her, stepping in front of her carefully. She opened her eyes and looked over at me. She was about to say something when she started to fall weakly. Luckily I was close enough to catch her before she could hit the floor.

"Angie? Baby, are you okay?" I asked as she blinked up at me. I carried her over to the couch and laid her there. She sat up slightly and shook her head.

"I dunno. I've been feeling off all morning," she said, shaking her head as if she were trying to stay awake.

"I think it's just because I missed breakfast," she explained. I shook my head.

"No, we've both missed breakfast plenty of times. This is different," I said, cupping her cheek gently.

"Something's wrong, Angie," I said, feeling more and more worried by the second.

"It's probably just stress. Helping mum run the store is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I just haven't been this tired in a while," she said.

"I want you to stay here and rest for the rest of the day," I said, pushing her hair back. Angelina nodded. I was glad she'd finally listened to me. I went back into the kitchen and finished making us lunch. But when I brought it to the couch and placed the plates on the coffee table, Angelina was fast asleep. I knew that something wasn't right. She'd gone to bed fairly early the night before. She couldn't have just been sleepy. I knew something else was going on.


	16. Chapter 16

When Harry and Ron helped me close up the shop, Angelina started down the stairs where I saw her after I finished locking up the register.

"Angie, how are you feeling?" I asked as she walked over to me and into my arms.

"Much better. I think I was just tired," she said, holding onto me.

"Have you eaten anything?"

"I had what you left on the table," she said.

"Are you guys coming over to dinner tonight?" Ron asked as Ginny and Hermione walked into the store to join us all.

"I dunno," I said before Angie could answer.

"Angelina hasn't been feeling well today."

"No, I'd love to have something at the Burrow later, especially if your mum's making dessert," said Angie, pulling back from me slightly. She hadn't eaten much yet so I assumed she was still hungry.

"Maybe we'll see you guys later," I said. Ron nodded and he, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny left.

"Angie, I think you should take it easy this weekend, maybe even take Monday off. We've both been working nonstop for the past two months—"

"George! You're worrying too much. I'm fine," she said for the millionth time.

"Angelina, you passed out earlier," I said seriously. She sighed.

"I'm okay, alright, George. I was just exhausted."

I still couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Angelina's sudden weakness than being sleepy, but I tried to stop worrying so much. I kissed her and she grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs. She kissed me once I closed the door, leaning up on her toes, pushing her hands through my hair. I smiled down at her.

"Are you sure you're feeling better?"

She placed a finger over my lips and then she began lifting my shirt. We made it to the bedroom where she made me lie down, straddling me gently and pushing her hands up my chest. Angelina pulled off her shirt and bra and then rolled over so I was on top of her. She tugged my pants down and I unbuttoned hers until we were naked. We started making love and I was sure she felt much better. We lay contentedly, catching breath on our backs. Angie giggled, turning on her side to look at me.

"It's been such a stressful week. I needed that," she said, pulling a hand through my hair. I smiled over at her. I thought about the little velvet box in Fred's room then and got up.

"Where you going?" Angie asked, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"I'll be right back, sweety," I said, gently pulling her arms away. I went over to George's room and found the box in the drawer where I'd left it. I picked it up and walked back into my and Angelina's room, holding the box behind my back. I sat in front of her where she was sitting in bed, eying me curiously.

"George," she said, wondering why I was smiling so much. I placed the box on the bed behind me and leant over Angie to kiss her for a bit. She rubbed my back and then grabbed the box not having been fooled by me dropping it behind myself. She pulled back from me and looked down at it.

"Angie, wait!" I said. It wasn't going how I wanted it to. Angelina's eyes widened as she stared at the box in her hands.

"Angie, please give it back. Let me do this," I said.

Slowly, she handed me the box. I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment, during which time I felt Angie's hands on my cheeks. I smiled and opened my eyes.

"Angelina, baby, for the past week or so, I've been looking for just the right ring," I said, opening the box so she could see it. With a small gasp she covered her mouth in surprise.

"That's why I've been missing lunch so much. I've been _everywhere_ trying to find just the right ring. I wanted to feel like it belonged on your finger."

I felt so nervous when I looked into Angelina's teary eyes.

"I love you. I say it pretty much every day, and I think you know it well enough by now. But I love you so much that I want to spend the rest of my life with you…That day we met at Fred's grave, I think it was supposed to happen. We've both been so sad about him, but when we're together, things feel right. They feel better. That day we were sitting in the grass at his grave, I remember picking up a dandelion and blowing its seeds. When I did that, I made a wish; I wished to be happy again. One of those seeds caught in your hair, Angie, like it was meant to land there. And when I invited you back to the house for dinner, it was in your hair the whole time. I saw it before you left. That little seed was there the entire time. And now I know that my wish came true, because you make me happy."

Tears slipped silently down Angelina's cheeks, though she was smiling.

"Will you marry me, Angelina Johnson?"


	17. Chapter 17

I held my breath, waiting for Angelina's answer. She was crying, her hands over her mouth. Without speaking, she reached her quivering hand towards me and I took it and slipped the ring on her finger. And then I looked at Angelina, whose eyes were closed, yet the tears were still streaming.

"Baby, what's wrong?" I asked, placing my hands on her shoulders. She shook for a moment, silently sobbing. She shook her head and opened her eyes.

"N-nothing," she said, smiling, "I'm just…I can't believe this…"

"Why not?" I asked grinning, wiping her tears away. Angelina took a few deep breaths and fanned at her face, laughing weakly.

"I dunno…I never thought anyone would ever want to marry me. I dunno…I've always come off as having such a hard exterior, because I've been afraid to be vulnerable to anyone…I never thought anyone would truly see me beyond that. I love you, George Weasley," she said. She crawled into my lap and I held her and we just stayed like that for a while.

"I'm hungry," Angelina said eventually, her voice slightly muffled where her face was half pressed into my chest. I caressed her hair which was wild and curly from rolling around in bed moments before. I heard her stomach growl and it sounded like an angry tiger. She wasn't kidding.

"Want to go eat dinner at the Burrow?"

Angelina nodded.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked again, knowing she'd be annoyed by the question for the one thousandth time. She giggled in return and started to kiss my chest. The little pecks were sweet and innocent. It felt like butterflies in my stomach and my heart jumped rapidly at her touch. If I'd never known love before, I knew it then. I started to stand up and Angelina grasped my arms.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking down at her desperately.

"D'you…do you think I should wear it?" she asked, glancing at the ring I'd just put on her finger.

"Why not? Aren't you going to marry me?" I asked sarcastically. Angelina blushed.

"I mean, we probably shouldn't rush things. Don't you think it'd be a big shock to your mum? Don't you think it's still too soon for such a big surprise?" she asked and Fred flashed across my mind for a second. I sat back down.

"Do you want to tell my parents now?" I couldn't really see how it wouldn't have been good news, although Angelina seemed a bit apprehensive about something.

"If you don't want to tell anyone yet, that's fine with me. Whatever you want, my love," I said, kissing her forehead lingeringly. Angie laughed.

"I don't think you've ever been this romantic," she said. I could tell from her voice that she was smiling.

"What's the rush, right?" I said, standing out of my bed and picking her up with me. She nodded and stood there. We were both still naked. She scrutinized the ring with amazement in her eyes. I loved that look on her face.

"It's _beautiful_, George, what is it? Where'd you get it?" she asked, staring at it and turning her hand so that the light continuously bounced off the gem and the diamonds, making it sparkle like true magic.

"I found it in New York," I admitted.

"I'd literally been _everywhere_, Angie, but that ring was the one. I knew you'd love it," I said with a feeling of accomplishment upon pleasing her.

"George, you could've picked up a pebble from the yard and I'd still have loved it," she said, looking at me. I blushed as she grabbed my head in both hands and started kissing all over my face.

"I love it! I love you," she said. We stood and hugged, and then got back in bed and I knew we were going to be late for dinner…

Mum was just serving dessert when Angelina and I finally made it to the Burrow. We were holding hands tightly, which everyone seemed to notice, looking over at us up from the table. My dad smiled, standing to greet Angelina, who was then hugged within an inch of her breath by my mother afterwards. I was feeling so happy then, like nothing could've ruined my world ever again; Angelina Johnson was going to be my wife. Even so, at the back of my mind, I couldn't stop seeing Fred and wondering if he was watching, if he was happy. I just wanted him to be happy, because I'd managed to find it without him, something I thought, as I sat down at the table across from my soon to be wife, that I would never find again.

"_Blimey_, bro…I haven't seen you this happy in ages. What's so good today?" Ron asked, pausing in stuffing his mouth with ice cream.

"It's _Friday_!" I said cheerfully. Hermione laughed and I was glad to finally have everyone's attention off of me and Angelina. I had the feeling they knew already why I was so ecstatic…

After dinner mum and dad sat back at the table where Angie and I were sharing a cup of tea and reading the paper.

"George," mum began.

I looked up from the newspaper to find my parents sitting at the head of the table. Angelina looked up as well, sitting up straight in her chair, wondering as much as I what they wanted to talk to us about. My mum glanced at my dad before he cleared his throat.

"Oh, right, well son, we've taken note that you're living above the shop again," he began.

"Yeah, dad, moved back in almost three months ago."

"How's it going, without Fred? Is everyone helpful?" he asked. My heart sank just the tiniest bit when he mentioned my brother, but I smiled.

"Of course it's going well, dad. We've been getting even better business ever since I came out with the most recent product. Ron helped me finalize it, actually. He's not completely useless, you know," I said, trying to make a joke. My mum grinned.

"And Angie, please tell me George isn't leaving socks around the flat like he does at home," my mother explained. Angelina laughed and I rolled my eyes.

"He actually cleans every week," she said and I turned to face her and kiss her forehead. I glanced back at my parents and they exchanged a glance I'd never seen between them before. It was bittersweet, as if they were sad about something, but happy at the same time. And then I knew they were smiling because of Angelina and I. I felt my heart thumping in my chest, but even harder when Angelina placed her hand on my knee under the table.

"Are you in love?" dad asked out of nowhere. I glanced at Angelina again who was smiling shyly. I nodded and I knew she'd done the same.

"Mum, dad, what's going on?" I asked, smiling unsurely. They kept exchanging those odd glances. I saw a tear roll out of my mother's eye and then I knew something was up.

"Angelina, you've been like a second daughter to me—"

"To _us_," my dad said, interrupting. My eyes burned with the urge to cry, but the reason for the feeling wasn't sadness.

"And we want you to know how much we love you," said my dad, gazing past me at Angelina. She smiled and reached across the table, where my mum and dad each placed a hand atop Angelina's.

"You've brought so much light back to this family," said my mum.

"We haven't seen George this happy since before Fred passed," dad finished. I wiped my eyes hastily.

"If there's ever _anything_ you need, _anything_ at all, we are family," my mother said firmly. Angelina's eyes were wet when I looked back at her.

"Thank you so much," she whispered, unable to really speak.

"It means so much to me," she said.

"We're getting married," I blurted, unable to contain myself. It seemed to be the perfect moment to announce it. There couldn't have been a better time. And to my utmost relief, both my parents smiled and gave Angelina and me their blessing. My mother stood up excitedly and pulled Angie away from the table, telling her that she absolutely had to take a look at the wedding dress she'd worn the day she married my dad, which left my father and I alone at the table. He reached over and hugged me.

"I'm so proud of you, son. You've done so much for that young lady. I knew Abe for a while but I never knew about the real troubles in that family. Angelina's a strong witch; I would never have known."

I thought about Angelina's dad for a second, and then I wondered who would walk her down the aisle. The bastard who by misfortune bore the biological title of Angie's father had long since abandoned her. Something told me he would never have come back for his own daughter's wedding. He wouldn't have intended to, had he known about mine and Angelina's engagement. Not only that, but I was determined not to let Abe Johnson take part in her life, in a negative way, ever again.


	18. Chapter 18

I woke up in my bed at the flat the following morning and turned around. Angelina wasn't lying beside me. I sat up sleepily, rubbing my eyes, wondering where my lady had gone.

"Ange?" I called, opening the door and walking barefoot out into the main room. I noted that the bathroom door was closed and assumed she was in there. I walked towards it and was about to knock when I heard a strange heaving noise…it sounded like Angelina was throwing up. Immediately I felt concerned; she hadn't been feeling well since the day before. I knocked, calling her name. The noise continued and followed by her breathing deeply. She sounded somewhat distressed. Worried, I began to turn the knob but the door was locked.

"Angel? Are you alright?"

I knocked again.

"George," I heard her call quietly. She still sounded exhausted.

"I-I'm fine, honey," she said, but it wasn't so convincing when I heard her throwing up again. I sighed and stepped away from the door. I went to sit down on the couch and glanced at the clock, realizing how early it was. I would usually sleep later on a Saturday, but it was eight in the morning. I couldn't have gone back to sleep, worrying about Angelina. I wanted to make sure she was okay. I heard the toilet flushing and the water running. Angelina came out of the bathroom with her toothbrush and walked by me at the couch. I stood up quickly and clumsily, following her into the kitchen where she started to fill the kettle to put on the stove.

"What you doing up so early, love?" I asked, wrapping my arms around her from behind. She dropped the kettle in the sink. Angelina sighed and pulled my hands away almost immediately, groaning in what sounded like discomfort.

"Don't get too close. I think I might have a bug or something," she said, spitting in the sink.

"Ange, I think you're sick. You haven't looked so well since yesterday. I think maybe it's time to see a healer," I explained, pressing a hand to her forehead worriedly as she turned around. She smiled and looked so weak that I almost gasped. Her beautiful chestnut skin appeared washed out and almost green with nausea. I nearly screamed when I got a good look at her.

"You look like you're seeing a ghost," she said, her voice coming out so tiredly and weakly that I was frightened.

"Angelina, you're ill," I said, stepping closer. She looked up at me curiously and then turned around to rinse her mouth out at the sink.

"Like I said, I think it's just a bug, George. I ate so much last night and I guess I just threw it all up. It feels like I can't keep anything down," she said, rubbing her stomach and filling a glass with water. I sighed, not believing it wasn't something to worry about. She started to drink and the glass shortly fell to the floor, as did she right after it. I was thankful for my fast reflexes when I caught her before she hit the floor. At that point I was really starting to get scared. I looked down at Angelina, whose eyes were closed; she'd passed out without warning.

"Not again," I said to myself, feeling my heart throb with panic as I picked her up and carried her quickly back into my room where I laid her on the bed. Just as I'd done so, her eyes opened.

"What just happened?" she asked sitting up slowly. I sat beside her.

"You just passed out—right out of the blue. I'm not playing around with this anymore, Angie. Let me take you to the hospital," I said, grabbing her hand.

"No," she said, pulling me back down, grinning.

"What? What do you mean, 'no'? Angie, you're _green_. You passed out yesterday, too, remember? Something's not right. Something is wrong," I said worriedly.

"I'm fine. I promise, George."

"Well, let's go to a healer first and be sure of it," I said, standing up. Angelina pulled me back down again.

"I'm serious, Angie," I said impatiently.

"I don't want to go to the hospital—I don't like them. I'm _fine_," she said almost as impatiently. I shook my head.

"You're passing out. That's _not_ normal. I'm not going to sit here and watch you suffer like this, Angie," I said, letting go of her hand and going to the closet to find her shoes. She sighed and threw her feet over the edge of the bed. I came back and put her shoes on. As I was tying one of them, I looked up to find her eyes closed. She looked so tired and weak. It wasn't like her; I'd never seen her like this.

"I just need to get some more sleep," she mumbled, not bothering to open her eyes.

"You can sleep at the hospital," I said gently, standing and holding her in my arms. I didn't even bother to put a shirt on before I disapparated to St. Mungo's.

I paced worriedly in the hall as the healer on call checked Angelina out. I was praying that it was just a twenty-four hour bug of some sort; I didn't want something to be wrong with my Angelina. If I lost her too…I knew I wouldn't be able to function. Unable to take it much more, I sat down in the waiting room and started to cry. I was alone, I was scared, I was worried. Everything had been so perfect before. Suppose Angelina had some terminal illness and would leave me sooner than she wanted to? I couldn't handle it. I felt like I was losing my mind. I hadn't felt such distress over a person since I'd lost Fred…A voice in the back of my mind was telling me not to worry, that everything would be okay. I wanted desperately to believe it, but I was terrified. It was almost a full hour before the healer came out to tell me what was going on.

"She's alright," he stressed as I shot up from the chair I was sitting in.

"She's resting now. Everything looks fine. There was no fever or serious injury from the fall she took yesterday when she hit her head. We think it was just a bit of stress, which can really do a number on a busy young witch such as herself. She'll be fine but we'd like to keep her for the night, just for observation."

"Can I see her now?" I asked.

The healer directed me down the hall and to the room where I found Angie sitting up in bed, flipping through a magazine. She looked over at me and smiled. I approached the bed quickly and leaned over her to kiss her forehead. She looked much better and I was hopeful she felt the same.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," I said, hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry," she said before yawning.

"It's too bad I'm going to have to be here all night though," she said, frowning when I looked down at her.

"I'm just happy you're okay," I said with utter relief.

"Have you been crying?" she asked, touching her thumb under my eye gently. I nodded honestly.

"Oh, George. I'm okay. I promise. There's nothing wrong. See, I told you. They said I'm going to be okay."

I sighed and sat down on the bed.

"Angie, I want you to take a break," I began.

"George—"

"No, I'm _serious_. I've never seen you like this. I don't want anything to happen," I said. Angelina cocked her head to the side.

"Nothing's going to happen, George."

"You don't _know_ that, Angie," I said, grasping her hands and kissing them.

"I don't want you to worry about me," she said gently, "I've just been stressed with my job. That's all. It's nothing serious."

"Nothing serious? You've passed out twice. I think that's pretty serious, Angelina. I think you should take a vacation. Just take the week off and let me take care of everything."

"But mum—"

"She's getting plenty of help from Hermione and Ginny. I'll tell them they should stay over there all week and just let Harry and Ron help me out at the store. It'll be fine. I don't want this to happen to you again when we start planning the wedding," I said.

Angelina smiled widely when I mentioned that. She caressed my cheek and raised her head to kiss me. I started to kiss her back when she suddenly pulled away from me and lunged over the side of the bed where she threw up. The panic was rising in my head again and I held her hair back desperately. It was all I could do as she sat there being sick. She groaned painfully as a nurse came in and quickly started to clean everything up. Angie lay back in the bed, closing her eyes. There was some discomfort on her face. I almost wondered if I'd done something to cause her to get sick. It killed me to see her this way. The nurse handed her a flask of something that had been sitting on the nightstand and told her to finish it right away. Angie drank the contents of it and when she opened her eyes, appeared to be totally fine again. I still felt unsure and Angelina duly noted the horror on my face as her expression was concerned. I wasn't sure what to say or what to do to make her feel better. I just sat there rubbing her shoulders and kissing her forehead.

It didn't matter how many times I asked if she was okay; she gave me the same answer each time, but for some reason I couldn't accept that she was alright.


	19. Chapter 19

I stayed with Angie the whole day. I didn't want to leave her side. The potion she'd drank made her stop throwing up, but I think it put her to sleep because she was out two minutes after drinking it. I glanced down at my bare chest. I hadn't even bothered to get dressed before rushing her to the hospital. I was so preoccupied worrying about her that I didn't even care that the nurse gave me a strange look as she came in to check on Angie. All I cared about was my Angelina. I wondered if some of it was the guilt I felt about splitting up with Fred at the battle…I could've stayed by his side. I could've been there when he needed me and I could've saved him…I shook my head to try and clear it. I was having a hard enough time just knowing that Angie was sick…

"George. George?" Someone was shaking my shoulder. I looked up to find Angelina smiling down at me in the dark.

"You fell asleep, sweetheart," she said. I glanced at her arm where the I.V. was still attached. I wished that Angie being sick had all been a bad dream, but it wasn't. However, she looked much better so I felt better.

"What time is it?" I ask, sitting up in the uncomfortable chair I had fallen asleep in.

"Just around seven. You should go back to the flat and get some rest. You haven't eaten all day," she said. I stood up, starting to feel a little lightheaded. She was right about me not having eaten all day.

"I don't want to leave you," I mumbled tiredly, still waking.

"You can't very well sit here all night, before you make yourself sick, too," she said, grabbing my hand and rubbing it.

"Alright," I said.

"Do you want me to let your mum know you're here?" I asked.

Angelina shook her head, "There's no need for her to worry. I'm fine."

I sighed and kissed her forehead before leaving. When I got back to the flat, I realized just how hungry I was. I ate and took a shower and lay on the couch. It was so quiet and so lonely without Angie there. I didn't like the way it felt. I thought about going to the Burrow, but then I was sure everyone would be asking me where Angelina was, and I knew she didn't want anyone worrying. I started to think about our wedding as I closed my eyes and relaxed there on the couch. I still hadn't quite figured out who was going to walk Angie down the aisle…maybe she had a cousin or someone who wouldn't mind. I started to doze off…

Someone was running their fingers through my hair repeatedly. I opened my eyes and found myself on the couch still, Angelina kneeling in front of me. She smiled and I shot up.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. It was daylight again.

"They discharged me about an hour ago."

"You should've messaged me, so I could've come to get you," I said, throwing my feet over the couch and pulling Angie up into a hug.

"It's no trouble. I'm perfectly alright," she said, sitting in my lap.

"Please, never scare me like that again. I was so worried about you," I explained.

"Sorry Georgie. The healers determined that it was the birth control potions I've been taking. I switched prescriptions almost a week ago. When they'd asked me if there were any medications I'd been taking, it completely slipped my mind."

I kissed her temple.

"I'm glad to hear it was nothing serious. It scared the hell out of me when you fainted."

"…So that means we're just going to have to be more careful, since I'm not taking the potion anymore."

"Well, there's the Contraceptive Charm. I've never tried it before but I'll look it up," I said, closing my eyes and inhaling Angelina's sweet scent.

"I thought I was pregnant," she said with what sounded like deep relief when it turned out not to be the case. My eyes opened in surprise; I never even considered that. I just thought she was ill.

"You sound happy that you're not," I said, looking down at her. She looked up at me.

"I am…I'm sorry, that sounded off. I just don't think that we should be trying to have a baby anytime soon." She clutched my hands, "Let's just focus on us and the time being. We've both been so busy working that it feels like we haven't had much _real_ time for each other."

I was listening but I couldn't get what she'd said off my mind.

"Do you _want_ to have kids…with me?" It was an honest question that just slipped into my head and out of my mouth before I could filter myself. I could see red rising under Angelina's cheeks.

"We're so young still, George. We're getting married pretty young as well…we'll have all the time in the world to worry about that in years to come," she explained. She hadn't quite answered my question, but I knew she was just trying to soothe me.

"I just can't think about having a baby _now_," she said, her eyes widening. "It's way too soon. You understand?"

She seemed much more worried about getting pregnant than anything else. I took a look around the flat and realized that she was right; it was much too small of a place to start a family. There was barely enough space here for me and all of Angelina's clothes.

"I'm sorry," I said, "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Angie nestled into my chest. She was so warm in my lap. I never wanted the feeling to go away. She sighed contentedly.

"We need to start planning this wedding," she said, looking up at me again.


	20. Chapter 20

In two weeks time, we had just about everything planned. We were getting married at Hogwarts in the Great Hall; Angelina had wanted the wedding there as it had been the first place she made friends, myself and Fred years ago (the school having been restored since the Battle of Hogwarts). She said her house just made her think too much about her father, whose presence Angelina admitted that she didn't want to feel the moment she committed herself to me. I couldn't blame her, but whilst on the subject I had to ask.

"Who should walk you down the aisle? You know your dad's not going to be there…I've been trying to think, but I'm not sure who else to choose from. I was thinking I could ask Bill to do it, since he's my older brother."

Angelina pondered for a minute and then smiled.

"What?" I asked.

"George, why not ask your dad? I'm sure he would be honored. He's a brilliant man, and he's been like a father to me more than my own dad."

I was surprised at her suggestion, and then wondered why I hadn't thought to ask my own father.

"You're right. Why didn't I think of that before?" I asked, sealing the last of the invitations Angie and I were working on. She smiled at me from across the table. I couldn't resist and leant forward to kiss her.

"So we have the catering settled," I said.

Angelina nodded. "It'll be both our mums making a lot extra. That way we save money."

"Thank Merlin for magic," I said, sighing. I already had thank you baskets planned for both our mothers.

"And Fleur, Ginny, and Hermione will be in charge of my hair and makeup," she said, checking something off on the list we had both made.

"Will you be wearing your mum's dress?"

Angie sighed, "We talked about it, but decided against it," she said, looking despondent for a few seconds. "And it's the last thing on the list, which I've been trying to work on. I still haven't found the right one yet," she said, cupping her chin in her hand. I was going to ask why she hadn't decided to wear her mother's when Abe popped into my head again. I realized that maybe Angie didn't want any reminders of her father to spoil anything, and I kept my mouth closed.

"Everything will be fine, love. Don't worry. We still have a month and a half before the wedding," I said, rubbing the back of her hand with my thumb.

"I just want everything to be perfect," she said under her breath, closing her eyes. She seemed so stressed and I wanted to make it go away. I stood up and went to the back of her chair, massaging her shoulders. She moaned in relief.

"That's nice," she sighed. I leant down and kissed at her neck. She let her head fall to the side. Gradually, I let my hands travel down her front, and Angelina grabbed them.

"I've got to get these out in the mail now," she said, starting to stand and staring at the pile of invitations on the table.

"Relax," I said, making her sit back down. She laughed when I kissed her neck again.

"You need a break," I said into her ear. I felt her shiver slightly at my voice. She stood up again and faced me. She leant back against the table and I stepped in closer until our bodies touched, drawing my arms around her for a good snog. I moved down her neck and she started to moan pleasurably. I could feel myself growing excited and I picked her up and carried her to my room.

"George, we need to get those mailed," she said desperately.

"They can wait. This can't," I said.

Angie grinned up at me, her brows rising suggestively. I sat her carefully on the bed, kneeling in front of her where I took her slippers off and pulled down the shorts she was wearing. I threw my shirt off into a corner and began to peel Angie's off. She didn't have a bra on as I gazed up hungrily at her chest. She was perfect. I grabbed her panties at her waist and pulled them off. She watched me as I unzipped my jeans and took them off, sliding out of my briefs. I reached into my pocket and took out my wand, pointing it carefully at Angelina.

"Adamantinus," I said cautiously. A small pearl white ball of light emerged from the tip of my wand and shot into Angelina's abdomen. I threw my wand aside carelessly, unable to take my eyes off Angelina and pulled her over the edge of the bed so that her back rested on it, and let myself inside of her. She moaned, clawing my shoulders. Between both of us working in our stores and planning the wedding, I found that we spent much less time in bed. I had been working even more hours to save up as much as I could for our honeymoon; I didn't want Angelina to spend a penny. But this moment was an immense release of stress, for both of us, and I reveled in it bucking my hips between Angelina's warm thighs. She was pulling my hair gently, the ecstasy on her face driving me mad with arousal. I slowed down dramatically as I neared climax and Angie dug into my shoulders. I paused to kiss her chin and neck, making my way to her face. She began to grind against me eagerly. She opened her eyes and looked up into mine. Angelina's were big and beautiful, a rich dark brown that never ceased to shine. I smiled. I wanted to always remember her like this. I cupped one of her perfect breasts, enjoying the smoothness of her hot skin on my hands. Angelina pushed against me, begging me to continue. I pinned her hands to the bed and gazed down at her, memorizing her beautiful face, her beautiful soul.

"I love you," I said, beginning to move my waist slowly, as not to excite myself to climax just yet. I could feel her becoming profusely wet. Angie moaned my name and it sounded so good. I gripped her tightly, in amazement; I still couldn't believe she was mine. All mine. I began to thrust roughly until she was writhing with pleasure and I came, losing all control and releasing my seed inside of her. She was so beautiful, pleasure glued upon her face, the full lips grinning with satisfaction. I never wanted to let her go. I wanted to stay inside her forever, gazing down at her radiance. Eventually she pressed up on me, needing to recover. I kissed her again before getting up, taking her with me. She sat on my bed, panting, and then just fell flat on her back, laughing.

"Why are you so amazing?" she breathed, curling into a fetal position and gazing up at me with that sparkle in her eyes. She looked so enticing curled up before me that I wished to ravish her again.

"I'm your fiancé. Of course I'm amazing, baby."


	21. Chapter 21

Angelina was so beautiful where she was straddling me and rocking her hips forward firmly. I liked watching her as she bounced up and down, exciting herself. This was only round two and she was still so full of energy. I watched her in amazement, feeling the tightness of her womanhood hug me. We fit so perfectly, like hands in gloves. I was about to lose it when she started moaning almost violently. She quaked and I felt her tighten even more. I climaxed beaming at the beauty of Angelina's orgasm as she trembled and pulled her hands through her thick dark curls. My hands were sweating bullets where I had them rested on the quilt. I couldn't fight the urge to touch her and ran my hands slowly down her body. We'd made a royal mess, which I quickly discovered when Angelina toppled off me and fell to her side. I thought it was about time to wash the sheets, anyway. Our love was earth shattering; I'd never had a woman like Angelina. Her body was thick in all the right places, yet she was still so supple and petite in an athletic way. She had strength and I could see it in her toned legs and stomach. I about decided that she must've been a goddess, sent from above and beyond. But it wasn't just her body I loved; I loved her soul. I could see it through her dark eyes that never failed to shine and I could see it in the way she cared for me, the way she spoke. I could feel her feelings, yet I doubted she loved me as much as I loved her. I knew she was thinking the same thing as she panted, catching her breath, staring over at me. We'd both really needed this. It had been too long. It had been so amazing that I wondered if perhaps I had died and gone to Paradise, but I knew it was real as I lay on my side and cupped Angelina's thigh, where I could feel the heat emanating off her skin.

"Oh my—oh my word, George Fabian Weasley…that was the best sex I've _ever_ had," she said, still catching her breath. I smiled contentedly and squeezed her thigh. She laughed as I closed in on her and rolled over so that I was on top of her again.

"Another go?" I asked, still trying to catch my own breath. Angelina groaned and then laughed.

"I think I really need a break now," she said finally, placing both hands on my cheeks. We smiled at each other for a while, dripping in one another's sweat. Even like this, she smelled beautiful to me. I was _insanely_ in love with her. We started kissing and it was very sexual kissing, but we were both too tired to have a third go. Either way, it was nice to feel her arms wrapped around me, rubbing my back.

"I love you so much," she said, caressing my hair. I turned my head to kiss her wrist.

"I love you more," I said, pressing my head to Angelina's. She closed her eyes, a content woman. For a while we talked about the decorations that we wanted for the wedding. I was asking what type of flowers she wanted and she didn't answer. I looked over to find her asleep. I stood up from the bed carefully and put my boxers back on, on top of her loving essence which I still felt to be tangible on my skin. I stepped out into the kitchen and with a flick of my wand caused the envelopes to float towards the window where three owls were already waiting to start delivering them to prospective guests. I stood at the window and stared out of it at the people down below in Diagon Alley. As I watched the owls fly off, I started thinking of my brother again. I wished one of those invites could go to him. I wished he could be here for me. Even after all of this time, I'd find myself in moments where I missed him. I smiled, remembering a joke he'd told me when we were children. Though I was laughing to myself, my eyes dripped with tears and I felt a pang of sadness. It hurt physically. I pressed my hand to my chest over my heart where I felt the sorrow.

"I love you, Frederick. You're going to be my best man, in here," I said, closing my eyes. The tears burned my cheeks. My heart pounded unstoppably. I sank to the floor and hugged my knees to my chest. The wind breezed through the open window in an eerie fashion; I swore it felt like someone touching me, the way it whipped through my hair and against my bare chest, like it did when I would visit Fred's grave and speak to him. Though I never got a verbal response I _knew_ it was my brother talking back. And suddenly I felt a bit better. I took a deep breath, letting the breeze in and holding it there for a few seconds before slowly exhaling it. I kept my eyes closed and I could see Fred and I as little boys, running round the Burrow, Hogwarts, running together. I really could see it like a film playing before my closed eyes. I knew it was my brother's way of telling me he'd never left.

It was probably the busiest week since re-opening when I walked down the stairs from the flat, holding Angelina's hand. It was only two minutes after opening and there were at least thirty people in the store. At the landing, Angie paused and I smiled, turning to her. We'd stopped for our usual morning snog, the one we always shared before we went our separate ways for the day. I held her tightly as she stood up on her tip toes to kiss me. The thought of our wedding coming up had brought us even closer, if that was even possible. At times I already felt like we were one person. Reluctantly, I let her hand go as she walked through the customers and out the door. Harry and Ron were smiling at me in a funny manner.

"…What?" I asked, stepping behind the register.

"You two are head over _heels_," Ron said, rolling his eyes like he was going to pass out.

"I can't believe you're getting married."

"What? Jealous, little brother?" I smirked. Ron playfully punched my shoulder, counting change for the customer who'd just purchased a pygmy puff.

"At the rate things are going, you'll be filthy rich by the end of this fiscal year," said Harry. I was happy about that and I couldn't have lied. After I'd purchased Angelina's engagement ring, I'd been wondering about a house—a _real_ place, just for the two of us. Angie had been working so hard that she was under more stress than I'd ever seen, taking naps on her lunch breaks and falling asleep by eight in the evenings. She'd taken her mum's perfume shop over full time because her mother decided to continue working full time at the Ministry again, though I wasn't sure why and Angelina wouldn't tell me. I hadn't pried though, as I didn't want to cause her more stress than was necessary. Planning a wedding wasn't necessarily the least stressful of events. My day carried on with me showing new products to frequent customers, who I'd come to enjoy because they made having my own store worthwhile. It was nearly noon when Harry tapped me on the shoulder as I was coming out of the storage room.

"How's it going, mate?" I asked. I felt happy today, like nothing could have rained on my parade.

"Er, everything in the store is fine. But Angelina's not."

My smile dropped immediately.

"I mean, Ron and I just saw her run up to the flat. She was in tears and seemed really upset. Just thought you should know," Harry explained thoughtfully. I didn't waste my time in hurrying up to the flat. As soon as I opened the door, I could hear Angelina crying. It was an awful sound. It pained me to hear it and I felt my own eyes water with concern for her, my blood boil at the thought of someone doing something to hurt her. But as I closed the front door, I heard my bedroom door shut. I hurried over to it and turned the handle, but the door was locked. I knocked.

"Angel, what's going on?" I asked desperately. It was quiet then as she'd stopped crying. I tried to open the door but it was no use.

"Angie, please talk to me. What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," her voice came out calmly.

"…Then let me in," I said. I could've used my wand and unlocked the door, but at the same time I wanted not to pry and bother her.

"I-I'm fine, George. Just go back downstairs," she said. I heard a sniffle and knew that she wasn't okay.

"It's not," I said, "Just talk to me, baby."

I heard her sigh. I waited a few seconds and listened as she stepped towards the door, her heels clicking. Slowly, she opened it. I stepped through and Angelina pressed her face into my chest, her eyes red from sobbing. I moved towards the bed and she sat down. I knelt in front of her on the hardwood floor as she covered her face with her hands and stayed silent. I rubbed her leg comfortingly, kissing her hand.

"What's the matter?" I asked gently. She'd seemed perfectly fine earlier this morning. She took a deep sigh and I drew my arm around her, pulling her towards me securely. She shook her head and her face contorted into sadness. A wave of fresh tears poured from her eyes.

"Angie?"

"I got a letter this morning, from my dad."

I was curious then, and I felt angry the way I always did when I thought about Angelina's father.

"When he left, he went so soon that my mum never got his signature for the divorce papers. So technically they're still married, and I knew that when he left but there was more to it than that. I thought when he left he'd just _stay_ out of my life! George, I don't know how, but he found out about the wedding…I don't care what he thinks but I know he'll want to stop it. And I'm scared because everything he's done with my mum for work, they're still tied, and he has control over the finances. I don't know what he's going to do, but I'm worried. The house is still in his name. He could take it from my mum."

I felt my eyebrows clench in pure rage. Why would that sorry excuse for a father have the nerve to come back and take away from her again? He'd already hurt Angelina enough by being a terrible father. I knew I had to be prepared for the worst, but I wasn't going to let the worst happen.

"He's not going to get shit. I'll make sure of that," I said comfortingly.

"What if he tries to ruin our wedding? He's a powerful man, George," Angie said, crying so much that I almost didn't understand her. I shook my head and held her hands tighter.

"I'm not going to let anything happen, baby," I said.

"But my mum will be all alone if she loses everything to him. He could ruin us."

I continued to reassure her that everything would be fine. Deep down I knew that I couldn't truly promise this but I had to do something.


	22. Chapter 22

*I'll be finishing this story shortly, because I have another idea in my head. It sort of splits my focus to be writing more than one story at a time, so before I'm seriously focusing on three plots at once, I've got to put an end to this. I can see 1-3 chapters being left before I'm done with Dandelions. Enjoy!

After I promised Angelina that I wouldn't let her father ruin our wedding, a week went by and neither she nor her mum heard another thing from him. And then another week went by, and still nothing. Angie seemed to relax a bit more as the days passed and we neared the wedding date. She'd been under so much stress that I begged her to hire another witch to help out at her perfume shop, even though Hermione and Ginny were good help. Angelina eventually listened to me and ended up hiring Luna, who we'd run into at Madam Puddifoot's one Saturday. She and Neville were out together and they spotted us as we were discussing what type of china to use over cups of tea. Luna was already set to be one of Angie's bridesmaids so it was nice to know that Angelina was at least hiring someone she trusted. She and I even went to some therapy sessions starting a few weeks before the wedding; we just wanted to be sure we had good communication with each other before tying the knot. When asked about intimacy, the therapist gave us a suggestion which included a handbook of Kama Sutra. When we lay in bed the night after the first session to gloss through it, Angelina couldn't quit laughing. She was absolutely unable to take any of it seriously as I flipped the pages.

"That just looks…violent," she said, giggling for the umpteenth time. I rolled my eyes and gave up.

"Thought the purpose of this assignment was to keep the spice in our bed," I said, running my hand over her bare back. Angelina laid her head on the pillow and blinked up at me, laughing so hard that her eyes watered. I wagged my eyebrows in a sarcastic way, which didn't help when she burst out laughing once more.

"Let's just call it a night. I'm beat," she said yawning naturally. I kissed her cheek lingeringly, feeling it plump up when she smiled.

"Goodnight, my love," I said.

The next morning Angelina and I walked out of the flat together, holding hands as we descended the stairs. I gave her a tight hug and a long bunch of kisses before she walked off towards the front door.

"Have a great day, love," I said, watching her smile back at me until she turned, as not to bump into any customers. Somebody snapped their fingers near my ear.

"Earth to George," Ron said impatiently. I stared down absently at my little brother.

"Wot?" I asked blankly.

"There's a _lot_ of work to be done if you want to get that new stilt shoe product out before your honeymoon. So why don't you meet me back in the storage room as soon as possible, yeah?" I nodded, telling him I just wanted to check the register first.

"Morning!" Harry said cheerfully, bringing food to the pygmy puffs as I made my way to the front desk.

"How's it going, mate?" I asked casually before grabbing the master key I always kept around my neck during the day and opening the register. I'd been keeping lists and floor plans hidden away of places I thought might be nice for Angelina and I to have our own house, a _real _home, one where we could start a new beginning and not see the constant reminders of Fred all over the place every day. It wasn't at _all_ like I was trying to forget my brother, but there'd be times when I'd find Angelina sitting at the foot of my bed in my room staring out the door across the way at Fred's locked bedroom door. I hated seeing her like that, to know what she was thinking of. I'd been coping with it pretty while, I thought, and I just didn't want him to be the only thing on both our minds as soon as we got back from our honeymoon. Harry, Bill, and Ron had already agreed to help me pick the perfect place and build the house as a wedding gift for Angelina, or rather a surprise, because she didn't have any idea what I was up to. I grinned to myself in my old mischievous way and folded the list that I was staring at. As I started to close the register, I noticed a shadow across the desk. I assumed it was a customer standing there so I started to lock the register.

"I'll be with you in a moment," I said cheerfully. However, when I looked up, the person I saw standing on the other side of the counter was a _far_ cry from anyone I ever would have considered a customer.

"You think you're slick, do you?" said Abe Johnson, placing his hands on the counter. My instincts were to get angry and I reached for my wand before I even knew what I was doing. But I wasn't fast enough, as Abe had his wand in my face before I had the chance to point it at him. My heart skipped a beat.

"What's that supposed to mean? What are you going to do, Abe?" I said, grinning and not letting on how uneasy I felt.

"You wouldn't dare do anything to me, in front of all of these people, when I haven't done a _thing_ to you."

He glared at me with more hate than I'd ever seen before, but it was Angelina's eyes that were staring across the counter at me, those dark sparkling eyes that I gazed into every night and every day—she had her father's eyes. As much as he hated me, his eyes said quite the opposite and it was almost hard for me to believe he was capable of inflicting any real harm against me.

"You're a poor, unprofessional, immature—"

"Sounds like you know yourself pretty well, Mr. Johnson," I spat.

"I don't want you marrying my daughter."

"_Your _daughter? You _disowned_ Angelina for being with me, in case you can't recall. Not only that, but you relinquished that title when you failed as a father. You turned your back on your family, and now you want to have a say in what goes on? You disgust me. You're a terrible excuse for a man. Angelina wants nothing to do with you. Why are you here? You should've just stayed away!"

I was sure that Abe was about to curse me as his face grew more and more cross while I told him off. By now a small crowd had formed around the register.

"Are we being robbed? Who the hell are you?" Harry asks, stepping through the crowd with his wand pointed at Abe, who turned around just in time to be disarmed. Harry caught his wand.

"Buy something or get out. We don't have time for thieves," said Harry bravely. I crossed my arms and stared down Abe when he turned to look at me again.

"Are you _mad_? I worked for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I could have you both sent to Azkaban so fast your heads would bloody spin—hand me my wand!"

"Sorry, but you're in _my_ territory, Abe. Best run along before I decide to hex you senseless," I said, crossing my arms. Abe looked from Harry to me and back again, finally starting to move when I pointed my wand at him.

"You won't hear the last of this," he said, pausing.

"I've only come back to take what's _mine_, and I will have it."

He exited my store in such a hostile manner that I was sure I hadn't seen the last of him. And then I thought of Angelina.

"Who was that, George?" Harry asked, approaching the counter that I was already rushing around.

"Angelina's father," I said emptily, rushing out into the street.

"What're you going to do? George!" Harry called after me, but I was already out the door. I pushed through the busy crowd and plummeted into Madam Pulchrum's Perfume; I was sure Abe would've made a stop there, but as I stumbled in, I only found Angelina sitting atop the front desk, writing on a clipboard, Luna midway in levitating to place something on a high shelf while Ginny pointed her wand at a mop which began cleaning the floor, and Hermione burst in after me, hitting my back as she apologized for being late.

"George," Angie said, hopping down off the counter gracefully and walking towards me.

"What are you doing here, honey? Is everything okay?" she asked. I immediately disguised the frantic look on my face.

"I-I just wanted to…to tell you that I'm taking a late lunch today, so I'm going to be missing ours. I don't want you to wait for me," I said, placing my hands on her hips as she stepped right up to me. I felt relieved that she was alright. I wondered what Abe had meant when he'd said he'd come back to take what was his. I wondered how that included Angelina. There was no _way_ I was going to let anything happen to her, over my dead body. She looked up at me curiously after a kiss.

"Are you sure everything's okay?" she asked, "You look a little…strained," she said, caressing my cheek. I nodded, closing my eyes so she wouldn't see the panic in them.

"Rain check?" I said.

"Huh?"

"For lunch."

"Oh, yes. We'll just meet for dinner instead," she said. I nodded and hugged her tightly. She laughed and I was further relieved that she'd bought my ruse. I wasn't about to tell her that her father was back to try and ruin her life; she'd only just relaxed about him and all the craziness going on for the wedding. He'd hit her before and I wasn't going to let that prick hurt her again, physically or emotionally. I was going to take care of things myself, somehow…

Angelina twirled, feeling like a true goddess as she spun around in the thirtieth gown she'd tried on in the past few weeks. It felt like the one, she just knew that it was, the same way that George had known which ring was the right engagement ring. Both Molly's and her mum's eyes watered at the sight of Angie in the perfect dress. Ginny clapped her hands together and stared at it in amazement, Hermione placing her hands on her cheeks in awe.

"Angie, that's the _perfect_ one," Ginny chimed.

"How does it feel, sis?" she asked, already referring to Angelina as her sibling. Ginny was excited about finally not being the only girl in the family. Angelina's eyes dripped and she held her hand over her heart.

"I feel beautiful," she said, gazing down at the cream white dress that she was wearing. That was exactly it; she was _wearing_ the dress—it wasn't wearing her the way she'd felt like the other ones did. It was the right fit, the right color, the right impeccable design.

"Marvelous!" Luna beamed.

"Mum, this is the one. I want this one," said Angelina, already seeing herself in it. She was happy to have finally found the right one, as the wedding was just a week away and she'd been shopping every weekend just to look for it.

"If that's the one you want, baby, we'll take it," said her mum…

I felt nervous, to be quite honest. But didn't every man feel nervous when he was about to get married? Bill finished fixing up my cufflinks and tie, telling me not to worry, that I looked sharp.

"Not a hair out of place, bro," Ron added, smoothing down my vest. I stared in the mirror in Gryffindor Tower. It felt just like I was back in school. The more I thought of it, the more I started to miss Fred. And I knew that Charlie, Bill, Percy, and Ron all felt the same way as they stood around me, uttering words of reinforcement but looking somewhat sad in an almost hidden way. Neville and Seamus were standing behind me where I could see them in the mirror, Dean stepping into the room and telling me I had five minutes. I hadn't even seen the Great Hall yet. I hadn't seen Angelina since the day before last. We'd followed the traditional superstition that it was bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other the night before the wedding, so she'd spent the night at home with her mum while I stayed at the Burrow. In the very back of my mind, I worried that Abe would try and show up again. I hadn't even told Angelina's mum that he'd run in on me at work, trying to threaten me. I just didn't want any feelings of uneasiness at my big moment, but it looked like I was going to have those feelings either way. I couldn't stop looking over my shoulder—literally.

"Relax, mate!" Seamus said, slapping my shoulder.

"I don't think I've ever seen you, the joker, this tense," he said wide-eyed. I cleared my throat and wiped the bit of sweat off my brow, taking a deep breath. It was going to be strange to see all of my friends, some of which I hadn't seen since the Battle of Hogwarts. I stopped thinking negatively and started out of the common room with my mates. I'd never felt so excited to get to the Great Hall in my life…Finally the moment came as I stood there, waiting for Angelina to walk down the aisle. There were so many familiar faces seated in the hall that it really felt like I was in school again. The Great Hall was done up so nicely that I almost didn't recognize it. It was a beautiful day as the sun shone in on everything, creating the perfect lighting. When I saw my dad elegantly holding Angelina's arm, leading her towards me, my heart stopped for a few seconds. She was immaculate. My jaw literally dropped a bit and I really believed I was dreaming. Though music was playing, all I could hear was my heart beating for the love of my life. After what felt like an eternity, Angelina was standing in front of me, holding my hands. The old wizard, who reminded me a bit of Dumbledore, smiled at us and started speaking, starting the ceremony. I watched my angel's eyes water, though she was smiling without teeth, clearly happy that this was happening.

"You'll ruin your makeup," I mouthed, brushing the tears from under her eyes. She laughed so quietly, as a camera flashed and I glanced over at my mum who'd shot a picture.

"I do," Angie said, placing the band around my finger. The wizard asked me if I'd lawfully take Angelina as my wife and I glanced at him and then at the crowd of family and friends with an expression that clearly asked if he were mental.

"By George—and I do mean myself—_I do_!" I said, unable to stop myself from cracking a joke. The wizard had to pause and wait for everyone to stop laughing as I slipped the ring onto Angelina's delicate finger. Right when we were allowed to kiss, I felt my heart imploding like fireworks. I'd finally found happiness, after all this time, after all the pain and all the loss. When Angelina and I pulled away, everyone was standing and clapping. The doors at the end of the Great Hall opened and I saw Abe standing in the middle of the aisle in a matter of seconds, and a blast of light hit me straight at the throat.


	23. Chapter 23

Right as the impact took place, I saw the beam deflect and hit the sky above. I felt something utterly cold going through me as I stumbled to my knees, Angelina's scream filling my ears. The next thing I knew my dad was standing in front of Angelina and I, his wand out. I couldn't see Abe in front of my dad, but somehow, his spell had been deflected from me. I was looking into a familiar face, and for the quickest second I thought I was looking in a mirror…I wasn't fully aware of Angelina's voice at my side, her hands clutching my arm as she cried.

"That _almost _hit you!" Fred shouted. I wondered if I was going mental—how was I looking at my dead twin brother? Angelina fell silent in midsentence and then I knew she was seeing what I was seeing. It was, in fact, Fred kneeling there in front of us, or rather, floating. I was in so much shock that I couldn't move. Guests were getting up left and right, but I didn't pay attention to what was going on with Angelina's father in front of us.

"You're lucky I was watching this whole time!" said Fred, moving in a sinuously ethereal fashion as he stood to full height. I finally felt Angelina clutching my arm. She fell in front of me and I looked down to find her unconscious. There was panic on Fred's ghostly face. I snapped out of the shock I'd been in and held Angelina's face in my hands.

"Angelina…? Angie," I said, shaking her slightly. She wasn't waking up. I felt the tears flooding my eyes as I began to pick her up.

"No…no," I said, clutching her, "No, no, no. N-not you—"

I cut myself off, pressing my ear to her lips. I felt her breath ever so lightly tickle my skin and sighed with relief; I'd been so shocked to see Fred's ghost that I didn't realize Angie had only fainted. She must've been in as much shock as I to see Fred standing there. After all this time, I never once thought about my brother's ghost being at Hogwarts. I'd been caught off guard when I saw him. Immediately I realized that he'd saved my life. He'd somehow managed to deflect Abe's spell as it hit me. I wasn't sure if Abe had meant to kill me by it, but all I knew was that he was effectively ruining mine and Angelina's wedding. I finally looked in front of me where Lee and Bill had managed to restrain Angelina's father, my dad holding his wand. There was this absolutely crazed look on his face, like perhaps he'd been possessed. I hoped that was the case, because I knew Angelina was going to absolutely die when she woke up to realize he'd made a mess of things. I felt so much anger that I could've killed Abe. My father was shouting at him, not understanding why he'd even come back. What I really wanted to know was how the hell he knew where the wedding was, and how he'd found out about it in the first place. Everyone was starting to calm down as my brother, my dad, and Lee forced Abe against Hagrid who dragged him out of the hall. I caught a glimpse of his eyes, which were completely black through and through, like some sort of demon. At that point I was convinced he was possessed.

"We'd better get her to the infirmary," said Fred gently at my side. I turned my head slowly and knew I wasn't dreaming when I found his ghost floating beside me, staring worriedly at Angelina. I had no words. I could not speak. When both mine and Angelina's mum came running towards me where I was holding her, they stopped deadpan and their eyes fell upon Fred's ghost. Immediately my mum's eyes began to water and she was reaching out as if to touch him, but in vain as her hand slipped right through his waiting upturned palms…

When Angelina woke up, she still looked beautiful in her wedding dress. She gasped, screaming my name. I placed a hand firmly on her shoulder to steady her. I made her lie back against the pillow.

"Shhh," I said comfortingly. Her eyes darted all over me from head to toe and she was clutching my hand as if to make sure I was alive. I smiled, relieved that she was alright. She crawled into my arms from the bed and began sobbing on my shoulder.

"What happened? I saw my dad…" she said, "he—he tried to kill you," she said, clutching me as if she couldn't believe I were real. I felt my eyes water as Fred appeared shortly, disappearing again almost as soon; we decided it might be best not to make Angie faint a second time.

"And I saw…_Fred_!" she said, thinking she was crazy as she said it, pulling back and looking into my eyes.

"But that's not possible," she said. I swallowed hard, shaking my head.

"What? How is that possible?" she said above a whisper.

"I'll explain later. I don't want you to faint again. But everything's okay, really," I said, rubbing her back.

"It's _not_. George…are you _kidding me_? My father just _ruined_ my wedding—he tried to kill you!" she said and, I could practically feel the anger swelling in her entire body. I shook my head.

"It's _okay_," I said, "look, I'm fine. You're fine, nobody got hurt."

Angelina exhaled angrily through her nose, an angry tear silently dripping down her cheek. We weren't even married more than an hour and _already_ all hell was breaking loose. I had a feeling Angie was thinking the same thing.

"Never mind what's happened. We're okay. We're married now," I said. Angelina's angry frown slowly turned into a smile. She kissed me and we held onto each other tightly.

"If you're still feeling up to it, everyone's waiting patiently for the reception," I said against Angelina's lips, my head pressed to her forehead. She took a deep breath and I knew she wouldn't be able to take her father off her mind for the rest of the night, all the more reason to finish the wedding and distract ourselves.

"Are they really?" she asks. I nod and give her a reassuring kiss. Madam Pomfrey had already said Angelina was okay, since she hadn't suffered any head trauma, so she stepped out of my lap and we held hands as we walked toward the doors of the infirmary. As soon as we pushed it open, all of my groomsmen and Angie's bridesmaids were waiting there, concern written all over their faces.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" I asked, "We've a cake to cut."

I was surprised at how well everyone cheered up after what had happened. All that mattered was that no one got hurt and the ceremony was complete. I didn't bother to wonder what had become of Abe as I started the first dance with my wife under the sunset near the Black Lake. Seamus and Harry set off the fireworks I had to practically _beg_ Angelina to allow for the reception. But she looked up at them in the darkening sky with amazement in her eyes and I knew she liked them as glittery lights showered down around us and all our guests, creating a truly magical aura. I gazed up at the fireworks, admiring the time and energy I'd put into the colour scheme and design. When I looked back down at Angelina, she was crying.

"What's wrong, baby?" I asked, pulling her closer as the violins that played created a romantic atmosphere. She smiled.

"Nothing, George…we've just been through so much. I can't believe we're still standing here," she said.

"I wouldn't be standing here without you," I said, lowering my head so that only she could hear me.

"I'm so glad I made that wish. It was the best one I ever made, and it came true. This whole time, it's your love that's kept me from giving up…after Fred died, I didn't feel like I had a reason to live anymore. At times it still hurts as badly as it did the night it happened…but I want to wake up every day next to you and know that it's going to be alright." My eyes watered and Angelina wiped them, "Because…it really _is _alright. Fred may have saved my life tonight. And if he hadn't, I wouldn't be holding you right now," I said. Angelina looked up at me curiously and I realized I'd said more about him than I'd intended to.

"How? I thought I saw him but that was right before I passed out. I just thought I was seeing things."

I shook my head.

"His ghost is in the castle. He said he was watching. I can't believe he was there and I never realized. Maybe he just didn't want to scare us," I said, suddenly wondering why he hadn't come to me before when I was in the tower getting ready for the ceremony.

"Are you sure it was him?" she asked, really wondering if the two of us were going mad.

"What did you see, Angelina?" I asked slowly. She buried her face in my chest.

"We should thank him," she said finally. I nodded.

"I love you," she said, meaning each and every syllable.


	24. Chapter 24

As exhausted as we were after the wedding, we still jumped into the giant bed in the white Greek villa I'd rented overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. All we wanted to do was make love and the night would be complete. I had never felt so exhausted and eager at the same time as I pulled my clothes off. I reached at the back of Angelina's dress and she snapped back from me for a second.

"You _really_ can't rip this one," she breathed, out of breath from kissing so much. I laughed genuinely.

"Help me," I said desperately, beginning to untie the many lacey ribbons on the back of the bodice of her dress. Angelina reached tiredly behind herself, missing the ties. My fingers fumbled long and clumsily, before I just drew my wand and pointed it at the dress, which started to slip slowly and effortlessly off Angelina's body. It removed itself rather tantalizingly, and I watched in anticipation as it slid over her hips where I finished taking it off gently. I pointed my wand into the closet and it floated mellifluously away, where neither of us had to worry about it. Angelina sighed in what sounded like relief to be out of the dress. She hadn't been wearing a bra so all I had left to do was to take off her underwear. Soon she was as naked as I. I pulled her into a sitting position and we just looked at each other like we were meeting for the first time…she ran her hand down my arm and sighed. I closed my eyes, fully feeling her touch, and she crawled forth to kiss my forehead, and kiss me between the eyes, the bridge of my nose, and finally my lips. I was absolutely smitten. I didn't want to open my eyes, for fear that I'd wake up from this seemingly amazing dream…Angelina straddled me, her smooth naked skin brushing over mine. She felt like silk. Sweet Merlin, I could've died then and there a happy man. She took me inside and I finally looked up into her eyes which were looking down into mine. She brushed her thumbs over my eyebrows and pulled her hands through my hair. I was speechless and breathless and immobilized. She kissed me with her sweet full lips and it was the best kiss I'd ever had. Slowly she rocked against me and began moaning, wrapping her arms around me and clutching my shoulder blades tightly. I sat where I was and maneuvered my hips up between her legs. She stuttered my name, shivering slightly, as if an electric current had passed through her. I held her firmly, never wanting to let go. As we neared climax, the sun was on the rise through the large round windows overlooking the sea. It was a beautiful thing to see. We finished together, palms pressed sweatily together, fingers interlocked. We were both panting as I lay down gently on top of Angelina. I continued to sway my hips for a couple of minutes, until I couldn't do it anymore. All the while the sun was rising and shining in on my wife's face, showing me a new day and a new life. Angelina smiled up at me, rubbing my cheek. I grinned down at her and we kissed. I lay down exhausted beside her and we wrapped up in each other's arms, Angelina slinging her leg across my hip. We were so close that we breathed the same air, enclosed in the crevices of one another's bodies. The band on my ring finger felt somewhat tight from the blood coursing fiercely through my veins. I didn't care. All that mattered was that Angelina and I were together. I knew we would be together until we died, and even then we'd still find each other. We said good morning, closing our eyes and falling asleep in each other's arms.

The End


End file.
